


Back to You

by JMoonrise



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon sucks and did their family dirty, Daddy Oliver, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Love, One Big Happy Family, Post-Season/Series 08 Finale, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Romance, Soulmates, They deserved the world, confused Felicity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 08:09:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 51,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22966714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JMoonrise/pseuds/JMoonrise
Summary: She was supposed to be in the afterlife, not wherever here was. Now she’s got figure out how to navigate life in another universe and discover what the deal with her husband/not husband is.
Relationships: Felicity Smoak & Mia Smoak, Olicity, Oliver Queen & Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen & Mia Smoak, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, William Clayton & Mia Smoak
Comments: 229
Kudos: 352





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Olicity fic ever. Just bear with me.  
> I liked the ending, but at the same time the Smoak-Queen family deserved so much better than what they got. I mean every other hero gets to go on living their happy lives but Oliver and Felicity spends 20 years feeling lonely. That's depressing.

As her eyes opened, she blinked at her surroundings in confusion. She wracked her brains attempting to call forth her last memory. It was hazy, but she did know that this wasn’t where she had been intending to go.

Her brow furrowed as she took in the desk, the computer monitors, the paper trays, folders, and overall messy workspace gave her an indication of where she was. However, it shouldn’t have been possible. She glanced down at her attire, and it was an outfit that she hadn’t worn in years, She hadn’t been the girl who wore bright colors, funky patterns, panda flats, and glasses in years. So what the hell happened to her? Had did she end up in the IT department of Queen Consolidated?

She knew she shouldn’t have trusted that backstabbing monitor with a God complex. He lied to her.

“IT Lady, you have failed this company.” Felicity’s head snapped up just in time for an arrow to come flying at her. She ducked out of the way, her quick reflexes kicking in.

“What the frack,” she exclaimed. That had never happened. There were rarely if ever children running through QC and she would recall if someone had shot arrows at her.

Felicity pulled herself up and stopped short at the sight of a small child decked in a green hood, carrying a bow. From the deep grumble she knew it was a little girl, but she couldn’t make out the face as it was obscured from her view. “Can I ask what I did to um get an arrow shot at me?”

“You brought in those burned, raw cookies.” She had never been for her culinary performance in the kitchen, though normally her baking skills weren’t terrible.

“MIA!!!” The girl turned on her heel and stared up at the man who swiftly entered. Her hands were tucked behind her back as she attempted to hide her bow from the man. “What have I told you about shooting arrows at strangers and running off?”

The girl removed her hood and blonde curls came tumbling down her back. Felicity lost the capacity to breathe at the sight of the two of them. How was this possible? The man was Oliver, only several years younger than the one who left her and their children to save the whole fraking multiverse. “Daddy,” her voice was sweet, too sweet, and Felicity suspected she was attempting to talk herself out of trouble. “I was being the Green Arrow. She was the one who made those yucky cookies, so I had to tell her. I didn’t hurt you, did I IT lady?”

She turned around and Felicity’s words were caught in her throat. It was Mia. It had been years though since her daughter had been a little girl. Was this a dream? Had she been concussed? Was she in a coma? The last time she saw Mia, which wasn’t that long ago, she was a grown woman.

“Miss, are you alright? I will pay for any medical bills or therapy. She gets carried away,” he directed a glare at his wayward daughter. Oliver was worried that she was suffering from some trauma.

Felicity blinked a couple of times and shook her head. “Sorry, um no she didn’t hurt me. I’m perfectly fine.” She couldn’t say the same about her mental state. That was a different story and unrelated to what happened in the last five minutes.

“We are both sorry. Mia was supposed to be with her brother, but he’s sick at home with the nanny. I ran out for a minute and then as I was coming back, she got into the elevator. She had obviously planned this. Mia, what do you say?”

“Can I get my arrow back?” That was something her Mia would’ve said too. Apologising wasn’t something she felt particularly inclined to do. Oliver nudged her from behind. “I’m sorry for shooting you, but maybe you shouldn’t make cookies.”

Oliver covered his face at his daughter’s version of an apology. “She won’t be playing with bows and arrows anymore. I do apologize though, and please let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

“Uh yeah sure, Ol-Mr. Queen.” She hoped he hadn’t noticed her slip.

“Mr. Queen was my father. You can call me Oliver.” He flashed her a grin as he scooped up his daughter. “Let’s go trouble. You’ve done enough playing hero for the day.”

“But daddy,” she heard Mia whine as they exited the office.

“Where am I?” Felicity asked once the father/daughter duo had disappeared. She was supposed to be reunited with Oliver, her Oliver. This was meant to be heaven, not some twisted version of reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this diverges from the moment Felicity walks through the portal.


	2. Chapter 2

“Okay Mia, daddy needs you to stay right here. I’m going to the bathroom and I’ll be back in a few minutes. Whatever you do, don’t shoot any arrows, please?” He begged her. His daughter was tenacious and daring for a four year old. He supposed it was karmic justice for all the stunts he pulled in his youth that he wound up with a child exactly like him if not in physical appearance but spirit.

“Sure daddy!” The little girl agreed. Inwardly Mia smirked as she watched her dad rush off to use the bathroom. She shook her head. The Green Arrow fought for justice and took care of people who failed. In her lofty opinion, the IT lady failed miserably.

Last week, Mia had gone to work with her Grandma. They were having a party in the IT department to celebrate someone going somewhere. She didn’t know what all those words meant, but there were lots of desserts. If there was anything she loved, it was cookies, cake, and ice cream.

However, the cookie she ate was disgusting. It was over and undercooked. She spit it out immediately and that IT lady said she was sorry. She thought they had been okay. Mia didn’t have her arrows with her that day, but she vowed that the blonde lady would know that she had failed. She barely remembered to grab her bow as she and her dad left this morning. It was lucky her brother was home sick with their nanny.

Mia poked her head out of her grandma’s office. Her assistant wasn’t there, which was good. She had to be sneaky. She tugged on her green hood as she walked to the elevators. This was going to be easy. So far no one had noticed her. She pushed the button going down and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the elevator to arrive. She didn’t have all day. She couldn’t get caught before she finished her mission. It was important.

The doors opened and she rushed inside just as she heard her dad calling for her. He appeared as the doors closed and she sighed. She could get in trouble later after she did her business. She had remembered that the floor was eighteen down. She had a good memory and could count really well. Her teacher told her she was the best in the class.

She waited until she heard the ding and the doors opened to the IT department. She poked her tiny head into several offices, but no one noticed her because she was sneaky. She was a real vigilante. Then she saw the blonde hair and knew she found her.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t expected to get caught by her dad. “But daddy,” she cried out miserably. “That cookie was gross. It was hard and doughy in the middle. Raisa can make good cookies, so why can’t the IT lady?”

Oliver stifled a laugh. He knew not to as it would only encourage his daughter in her antics. “Mia Pizzeria, baking is a talent, not everyone can be Raisa.”

Her bottom lip jutted out into an adorable pout that Oliver wasn’t immune to. “Why not?”

“Can you bake?”

Her little face blanched. “I’m tewible, you know that. I gots the shell in the eggs that one time.” Oliver grimaced at the memory. Mia had been tasked with cracking the eggs, and perhaps he should’ve monitored her better while she cracked. However, he was busy chopping up vegetables and had entrusted his son to watch over his sister. He hadn’t realized there was shell in the mixture until they were already eating.

“That is true. However, you probably made IT la- Ms. Smoak sad because you made fun of her and attacked her with your toy arrows.”

Mia frowned. “i didn’t mean to hurt her feelings.” Oliver knew that was true. Mia wasn’t mean. She had strong opinions and wanted everyone to know. She never held back. He was proud of her for knowing her own mind and not being afraid to express herself, but he could do without the arrows.

“Be that as it may be, you still did what you did. You’re going in time out when we get home.”

“You no fair.”

“I am fair. You just don’t like what I have to say. You know the rules. You aren’t allowed to shoot arrows at anyone. I also told you not to leave Grandma’s office and you did anyway, so why shouldn’t I punish you?”

Mia tapped her chin as she pulled back in her dad’s arms to stare at him with her blue eyes. “Well I did do a bad thing. B-but I’s getting justice for the company.”

Oliver shook his head at her reasoning. That was his Mia. She had a justification for every little mess she found herself in. At nearly five, she was a handful, and he didn’t know how he would survive her teen years let alone the rest of her childhood. She was a master manipulator and stubborn, a lethal combination if there ever was on. “How about you sit in time out for five minutes. Four minutes for disobeying me and leaving, and one minute for shooting the arrow.”

The tiny tot scrunched up her face. She knew she wouldn’t get a better deal that that. Her daddy always punished her when she did bad even she gave him her sad eyes. She had tried to get out her punishments, but her dad was tough. “Fine,” she muttered. “Can I has mint chip after?”

He kissed her. “Oh Pizzeria what am I going to do with you?”

“Love me, duh!” He laughed and held her tighter as they made their way back up to his mother’s office. “That lady was pretty.” There was something in her tone that made Oliver pause.

“She was,” he confirmed. It was hard not to notice. Normally he rarely paid attention to blondes, but there was something captivating about the lovely Ms. Smoak. He had run into her a few times after company events, but he had never had the chance to marvel at her beauty.

“You should make her your girlfriend.” Oliver sputtered incoherently. “Will says hansome men needs a beautiful girlfriend. And you’s the hansomest boy I know daddy. She was pretty too and I think she liked you.”

He was touched by his daughter’s words. “You’re the prettiest girl I know. Why would I need anything more than you and your brother?” He was ignoring the last part of her statement. How would his four year old know if a woman was attracted to him?

“So you can kiss like in my princess movies.”

“I kiss you.”

“Yes, but not like a girlfriend and boyfriend. Don’t you want a pretty lady?”

In truth Oliver hadn’t dated in years. He had no interest from the moment his daughter was born and discovering he had a son. Neither of his children had come into his life by conventional methods, but he wouldn’t change their presence either. They were the catalysts he needed to grow and pull his life together. After his father’s death he struggled immensely to find his place. He went through countless girls whose faces were a blur and drank way too much to forget the pain and fill the emptiness in his life. Then he started writing and hadn’t stopped.

“I don’t know Mia. She probably has a boyfriend or a husband.”

“No ring,” Mia held out her own hand to show him what she meant. “Married peoples always has a ring. So ask her on a date?” Oliver groaned and buried his face in his daughter’s hair. He had no idea where she inherited her talkativeness. He was never known for his eloquence and used the minimal amount of words to communicate. “Then you can get her a ring.”

His daughter was the opposite of him. She talked endlessly. She filled the silence with her bubbly personality, exuberance, and chattiness. “I’ll think about it. Is that good enough for you?” She seemed put out, which was an odd thing to say about a four year old. Why was she invested in his love life? It had never bothered her in the past.

He thought she was humoring him. “Yes daddy, let’s go see gamma now.” Oliver carried his little arrow into his mother’s office so they could leave for lunch.

* * *

Felicity stared at the spot where the father/daughter duo disappeared for longer than she would care to admit. “What the frack?”

Was she on a different earth? It would explain some things. In her world, Oliver technically had never known Mia beyond her baby years, although the Mia she met at his funeral had in fact met her father.

That was still strange for her to think about. She had known what her daughter would look like before it happened, and not as a result of technology. She had met her, talked to her, and comforted her over the loss of her father. None of it was fair, but it was especially hard on her Mia. She saw the traces of Oliver in her as she grew and while it made her happy to know that he would live on through their daughter, it was hard to look at Mia sometimes and not see her father.

They made similar expressions. Their temperament was the same. It was as if her husband’s personality had been transplanted in their daughter. She was confused about the details of Mia showing up at the funeral until Sarah revealed that Mia had regained her first timeline memories and essentially had two lives in her head. Her daughter had embraced her role as her father’s daughter. It made her proud and her heart ache.

Leaving her children behind was a difficult choice, but they were adults forging their own paths in the world. They didn’t need their over-protective mother constantly hovering over them. It was time for her to cash in on the deal she had made with the Monitor all those years ago, except now she was positive he had screwed her over. Did he enjoy messing with the lives of pathetic mortals?

She was supposed to go the afterlife or wherever and be reunited with the love of her life, not relive some messed up version of her past. Twenty years was a long time. Felicity tried pinching herself, but that only resulted in a tiny bruise. So it wasn’t a dream. She was here whoever here was.

She briefly entertained the idea that it was her Oliver after all. However, that couldn’t have been her Oliver. There was no sign of recognition in his eyes as he regarded her. He was apologetic about his daughter’s action, and he was somewhat concerned she was injured. Still though, Oliver was thoughtful and considerate even if he didn’t think so. Yet, maybe it was. She was here after all. His daughter was named Mia. That couldn’t be a coincidence, or maybe she was wrong and thinking about it too much. All of this was giving her a headache as she tried to wrap her head around her new reality. The Monitor had made it very clear there was no going back.

She picked up the toy arrow that Mia Queen shot at her. It had a green arrowhead because of course it did. Green was Mia and her dad’s signature color. The initials MEQ were engraved on the shaft in small print. What small child needed custom arrows? Then again it was the Queen family, and they spent money without even taking the price into consideration. The way they handled money was like how others breathed. She supposed she should be thankful it wasn’t a real arrow as the little girl had fairly good aim and there would probably be more incidents if she was playing vigilante in public.

At least, one thing had remained the same from one reality to the next. She was a failure in the kitchen. Mia’s little speech had reminded her of when she had failed spectacularly at making anomelet for Oliver. He took it in stride well aware of her deficiencies and never minded that she wasn’t good at household tasks. He took over all of those duties when they lived together and she adored him for it. She would never be able to cook without it turning into an absolute disaster. She had never mastered it and was thankful for takeout and the money to pay for someone to cook.

This was all becoming too much for her, and she needed to go home where she could think. She had to figure out when and where she was, and go from there. Was Oliver the Green Arrow? He existed if Mia’s pretending was any indication. Still, it didn’t necessarily mean that it was Oliver. Having children precluded him from taking those risks, at least towards the end. He would never put his family at risk if he could help. Something nagged at her about him. There was a confidence in the way he carried himself and he didn’t possess that haunted look he was known for.

As she shook her head to clear it of thoughts of him because _hello_ that so wasn’t a priority at the moment, she found herself observing her surroundings. Felicity was thankful that this version of herself wasn’t different as far as she noticed from who she was. The passwords were the same and that was a relief as she logged into her email. She would contact her supervisor and take the rest of the day off to recoup.

She supposed the universe/multiverse or whatever was out to get her the moment the elevator doors opened. Mia Queen had her body pressed into the wall as she did a handstand. “Oh hey, I- Ms. Smoak,” she corrected when she received a sharp look from her father. “See my handstand.”

 _Damn, that was hot._ She never had a chance to see him be a proper father to Mia. Those moments with their daughter curled into his chest were all she really had. They had moments when it should’ve been years. Someone was needed to be a hero and that someone was her husband. She had watched all of her friends go on to live happy lives, and while hers by no means miserable, it wasn’t what it should’ve been either.

She realized that Mia’s eyes were on her and remembered the little girl wanted her to watch. “You’re good at that.” Felicity had never been known for her upper body strength. She appreciated it in others, but was well aware of her limitations. “I’ve never really been able to do that. I have terrible upper arm strength.”

“I’m really strong.” Mia kicked down and picked herself up as she smoothed out her blonde curls. They were a tangled mess, and if she was anything like her daughter, then a brush was out of the question. “Sorry about shooting you. Daddy says it’s bad manners. But no more making cookies, ‘kay? Cause you are terrible.”

Felicity swallowed painfully, suddenly uncomfortable in the presence of a child who resembled hers too much for comfort. “Yeah I am sorry about that Mia. I’ll try not to fail the company with my bad cooking.” She held back her emotions as she looked down. Was Mia meant to be in every universe? Who was her mother? Had Oliver ever needed her? It bothered she didn’t have the answers to explain. She hated mysteries.

Someone snorted, and it wasn’t difficult to figure out who when there were only three people in the elevator. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed a slight smile tugging at his lips. He was amused. She had missed seeing his joy. The last time she saw him there was nothing but tearful goodbyes and solemn faces. She had no idea then that it was the last time she would see him.

“So do you have a boyfriend?”

“Mia,” he sounded horrified. He shot her an apologetic look, conveying his mortification.

The little girl shrugged, nonplussed by her father’s reaction. “What? If she got no boyfriend, she can be your girlfriend.” Oliver smacked his hand over his eyes. “So do you?” She peered up at Felicity with the bluest eyes.

“Uh… well um-“

“You really don’t have to answer her. She’s being nosy,” he glared at his daughter. A shiver went down her spine. “She’s trying to get me a girlfriend because she thinks I’m lonely and has been talking with her brother and aunt too much.”

Mia squared her shoulders. “But you is lonely. Will said so and he knows everything. Aunt Thea says you needs a girlfriend too. She said that you hasn’t slep-” Oliver slapped a hand over his daughter’s mouth before the words could come out. He had an idea of what his daughter overheard her aunt saying.

Felicity covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh. So Will was around too. Both of her kids were being raised by their father, that was rather unexpected. Then again, they weren’t her kids, not here. She didn’t know them, but how had it happened?. “It’s fine. I mean I don’t normally have small children asking me about my relationship status in elevators while trying to set me up with their handsome, billionaire fathers, but I’m flattered. Uh yeah I didn’t mean to say that. I’m going to be quiet now.” She zipped her lips shut.

Oliver smirked at her. It reminded her of her husband. He loved when she babbled. “You think I’m handsome?”

“What?” She gaped at him. “No- I mean well yeah you’re Oliver Queen and you’ve got a great build and a really good looking face, but uh oh my god. Please don’t fire me, I’m not trying to sexually harass you or anything. I’ve just noticed is all.”

He chuckled. It was husky and inviting. That’s what she missed about him the most. She loved when he was carefree and let all of his worries dissipate. He wasn’t brooding or carrying the world on his shoulders. He was allowing himself to have fun and be flirty. At least, she thought he was flirting with her. “It’s fine.” He dismissed her concerns. “I’m teasing you.”

She shifted. “Oh here’s her arrow back.” She pulled it out of her purse. “It’s got a decent sized shaft. Is it custom?” When was she going to not say things like that? It was like those early years all over again. Her words came out all wrong and sounded more like a sexual innuendo.

Thankfully, the elevator doors finally opened and had it really only been the span of a few minutes? Mia cut her off as she exited and she lost her balance. Strong hands wrapped around her waist, preventing her from falling on her ass. _Oh god!_ She could feel her skin burning under his touch and was this his chest? Apparently in every universe her body responded to his. How was that remotely fair? Also, why did he have to have all those muscles?

Felicity turned to him, her cheeks pink. “Um yeah so it was nice feeling you- meeting you. I-it was good to meet you because um we’ve never met. Uh thanks again for the assist. Wouldn’t have wanted to fall on my face or anything.” She shook her head. Could a hole open up and swallow her whole? How was it with years of practice she managed to continue to embarrass herself in front of him? She would need to work on this before she humiliated herself further.

“Come on daddy, I want to do my timeout. You promised mint chip if I did.”

Oliver pulled away with a friendly grin. “Sorry about her, and I hope she hasn’t caused you any issues. She’s a handful. You would’ve been well within your rights to file a complaint, so um thanks for that. It was nice meeting you too, Ms. Smoak.”

He turned away from her and sped up to his daughter. His mother waited next to the doors for the duo, talking on the phone.

“It’s Felicity,” she called out.

He glanced back at her, a pleased smile gracing his lips. “Okay then Feli-city.” His mouth caressed the syllables of her name in that way only he ever did.

Mia tugged on his arm and he followed her over to his mother. They exchanged cheek kisses and Mia held her arms open for a hug. She and Moira had put their differences aside a long time ago for the sake of her children. They deserved to have their family around. It was shocking though to witness. Oliver had never gotten to reunite with his mother, and there he was with his not dead mother. They hadn’t fully made amends when she died, but she knew he loved her. 

“Frack.” She was in too deep and she had technically just met the man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Mia doesn't want her dad to be lonely and is trying to set him up with the IT Lady.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I think I'm going to post every Monday, and some weeks maybe twice a week.

Felicity stared at the date. She hadn’t paid attention to much of anything back at her office, and she probably should have. It was impossible, but it wasn’t. Logically she knew it could happen from what they had gathered in the past.

In her universe, she met Oliver Queen in 2012. She figured she had been dumped somewhere around the same time, however that wasn’t the case at all. It was 2019. The irony wasn’t lost on her either. If there was a year of her life, she refused to think about it was that one. While her daughter’s birth brightened it, there was no forgetting that it was the year that turned her into a widow. How could she when her world was the one that changed the most? Her last memories of him were tainted by her endless sobs and damning the universe for needing him, and him for having put himself in that situation.

She shook her head refusing to dwell on the past, well past for her.

What she did know was that in the multiverse, the timelines weren’t parallel. Time passed differently in each one. So, theoretically it was possible for her to be in one that was over twenty years behind her own. It didn’t make it less strange.

Secondly, she discovered that her birth year wasn’t the same. She was born seven years after her birth date in her original universe. She was no longer Felicity Smoak, class of ’09, but Felicity Smoak, class of 2015. Even a genius like her didn’t want to run the math and all the reasons for why that was.

Felicity’s ultimate desire was to dig up everything she could on Oliver. He was different. There was a light that shone brightly in his eyes that she hadn’t seen until they began dating. The darkness that constantly plagued him was absent, and she needed to know why.

Hacking and internet stalking was a technical relationship violation, she figured he didn’t really know her and they weren’t together. Besides, Oliver had enjoyed watching her skills. She figured if she ever had to admit this transgression, he would forgive her. Anyway, in a previous life, it wasn’t as if he occupied the moral high ground.

“Let’s see what you’ve been up to, my love.” She sat back in her seat at what she discovered regarding the illustrious Queen family. The Gambit had sunk, but Oliver wasn’t on it with his father. “Huh,” that was rather unexpected as that event precipitated the change in Oliver. The carefree playboy died on a life raft the minute his father shot himself in the head and he landed in literal hell.

In this world, his father’s body was recovered along with one of the crew members in a life raft. The Gambit had been salvaged and investigated, but by all reports it was an accident. She even hacked the reports to check the pictures. There were no markings to indicate an explosion occurred.

Were some things by design, fated to happen? Felicity wasn’t one to put her faith in the idea of destiny/fate or what have you, but after everything she had witnessed in her life, it was difficult to not consider the possibility. What were the chances that she woke up in this new life the minute Mia snuck away from her father and decided to enact justice? She believed her choices were her own, but was Oliver always meant to be part of her life? It begged the question. 

As she did a little more digging, she realized that his father’s death had still left him shaken. It prompted him to leave his family’s company and start his own. He was the founder of a successful publishing house. She always believed him capable of a lot more than he believed of himself. All those years running away from his responsibilities and putting on a show for all to see had left him confused about his own potential after he came back from his years away. He drifted aimlessly for a while, unsure of what he should do with his life, particularly after signing away his family’s company. He wasn’t entirely to blame for that fiasco given the underhandedness and manipulations of that bitch, Isabel Rochev. Just the thought of her had Felicity grinding her teeth. She still despised the woman after all these years and probably would never stop.

A small part of it was the intense jealousy. She pretended back then it hadn’t affected her that he had a dalliance with she-who-shall-not-be-named, however that was a blatant lie. Even oblivious Oliver sort of sensed something, but he was blinded by everything else and resisting his own feelings, the idiot. Regardless, that woman had stolen something from Oliver, and he had never quite gotten it back. She also never appreciated the condescending tone she had whenever they spoke. If anything Felicity was way too overqualified for be a mere executive assistant, and the fact that bitchabel thought she only got her job because she was doing the dirty with Oliver was insulting.

Felicity shook her head to keep her thoughts from her. If she existed here, she would be tempted to do something about her. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t the same Isabel. She was the type to remain the same in any universe.

With a deep sigh, she returned her attention to her computer screen, to prevent herself from checking up on Isabel. The Oliver Queen of this world was still similar to hers by all accounts, as he loved his family. Aside from Thea and until the discovery of their son, Oliver didn’t have much in the way of biological family anyway. On this earth, Oliver was pictured a lot with his sister Thea, who managed to stay out of the papers unlike in her previous life. It seemed that what she had needed all that time really was her brother.

Apparently, they were close. Every Friday, Thea was photographed exiting Queen Publishing with her brother as they went out for lunch. The Queen siblings weren’t heavily in the spotlight and did their best to avoid the attention of the media, a stark contrast from their counterparts who were constantly in the press for their antics. Oliver managed to have a normal relationship with his mom. That came more from hacking cameras at QC and using facial recognition software to track their movements together. They weren’t photographed frequently together like he and his sister.

Taking a break from directly reading up on Oliver, she decided to look into the existence of the Hood, Arrow, or vigilantes in general. Did they exist here? They had all but disappeared from Star City after Crisis. She was honestly baffled at how a city with some of the highest crime and political corruption rates managed to exist after Oliver’s sacrifice with virtually no crime. She figured her husband had something to do with that.

“What the frack?” The Green Arrow did in fact exist, except he wasn’t real in the way Oliver was. He was the main character of a graphic novel series. Felicity blinked a few times. That was different. It was fairly popular too with a television series in its’ second season. There were only five novels currently published, but according to the Internet, another was in the process of coming out soon. It was highly anticipated. She made a mental note to read them when she had time to see if there any similarities to her Green Arrow.

What she did notice was that the series was published under Queen Publishing. It was possible it was a coincidence, however what were the chances? The series detailed the life of a former billionaire playboy turned vigilante attempting to save his city from darkness. It was hard not to draw conclusions from that, basically the summary of Oliver’s life. What struck her was the name of the author, Jonas Королева. Jonas was Oliver’s middle name and Королева she discovered was the Russian word for Queen. She shook her head and chuckled because apparently in every incarnation, Oliver sucked at secret identities.

It wasn’t enough evidence to convince herself that the Oliver on this earth was hers, but she had her suspicions like when she put together the clues he was the Hood. She knew Oliver better than most, and if it were her Oliver, unsure of whether or not she was real, he would deny it with some poor fabrication that resembled anything but the truth. A spilled latte was her favorite of all of his excuses when there was clear evidence that bullet holes were the cause. Then again, she was partial to the sports drink excuse. It never failed to amuse her, and Digg had walked away unable to handle Oliver’s attempts at lying. 

She really thought about reading the harrowing series, but decided it was best to put that thought on hold for the moment. She needed to get her wits about her before deciding on a course of action. Also, she needed more information on him before she could confront him. Oliver’s creed was deny, deny, deny unless someone was in danger then he was willing to expose himself. 

Her headache was coming back, but she did her best to ignore it. She had more pressing concerns to contend with.

**Oliver Queen spotted with his kids**

_Former playboy billionaire turned publishing mogul, Oliver Queen was spotted with his son, William Queen,8 and his daughter Mia Queen, 4 at Saturday’s baseball_ _game. The family of three were decked out in gear supporting the Star City Rockets._

Felicity’s eyes blurred with tears at the sight of her stepson and daughter. There they were looking as perfect as ever. They were sitting on opposite sides of their father, each clutching an arm as they excitedly watched the field. Mia’s hair was tied up in a green bow and a baseball tee. William wore a team jersey. It was surprising as he had never held much interest in sports, then again he didn’t have the influence of his father in his life early on. She wondered how much was the same and what changed aside from the obvious.

Clicking on another article from a few years previous, Felicity continued her research. She wanted to know everything she could find digitally about Oliver Jonas Queen and his/their children. Something told her, even in another universe he could still surprise her.

**Oliver Queen Is a Father**

_That’s right folks, you heard it here. Oliver Queen, the heir to his family company, Queen Consolidated has revealed that he is the father to a four year old boy. Oliver known for his playboy ways had a different woman every night for years, so who is the mother?_

_The family has refused to comment when asked and has requested that their privacy be respected as they deal with the shocking news._

William’s entrance to Oliver’s life was unexpected. Previously, William and Oliver never met until his son was much older. Had something happened to Samantha to cause that chain events? It was the only explanation she could think of as to why that would change.

There were several articles that mentioned his father’s death, the announcement of Mia as the new girl in his life, his stepping back from the company, and the decision to start his own publishing company. Aside from some appearances at the occasional gala, Oliver was rarely captured on camera. He spent most of his nights at home with his children. She found dozens of videos and pictures documenting their time together at the zoo, aquarium, sporting events, and even at Big Belly Burger.   
  
She clicked out of everything when it hit her that this was what could have been on Earth prime if things were different. That version of Mia and William never got that. Sure they heard stories from their grandmother, aunt, her, and countless friends, but it wasn’t the same. It was still only stories.

* * *

Unfortunately, she didn’t have the time to unravel the mystery in the weeks ahead that led to the differences here. She was kept busy at work and there was a lot of talk about moving her over to the Applied Sciences division. It had been her dream to work there when it was announced. Then again plans changed when supervillains were involved. The precarious situation of QC sort of left Oliver with very options and eventually she accept that he needed her outside of their OTA duties. Well, she grudgingly conceded defeat and became his EA, not finding any way out of it. He had made a fair point about them needing covers to keep their nighttime activities separate from their every day lives. It still never failed to sound more illicit than it was.

Her business at work blinded her to what was happening. It was Halloween and apparently it was a thing that the children of employees for the company went trick or treating on the different floors. While QC had prided itself on being a family company, it hadn’t been particularly family oriented. Then again the family running it were as dysfunctional as it got and rife with one scandal after another, so she supposed it was natural for some things to fall to the wayside. 

“Felicity, don’t forget you’re needed to stay late tonight for the trick-or-treaters.” Her boss reminded her as he dropped off a few folders for her. The smugness in his voice irked her. 

Her head snapped up because what? “What?” She asked dumbly. The pieces of her life came in fragments. She did have all of this Felicity’s memories, but it was hard to know what was relevant or not. Most of it was actually pretty much the same as her own life with a few differences here and there. Recalling everything was difficult though.

Her boss was still an asshole in any universe. He constantly beleaguered her. Every time there was a minor issue or some virus going around the company, he dumped it all on her instead of anyone else in the IT department. He gave everyone else in the department the more challenging duties and saddled her with busy work. Ugh, she forgot how much she hated him. He was the main reason for her wanting to transfer out of the department as he didn’t value her and she was capable of much more than he was giving her.

He glanced at her impassively as he dug through the files in his arms. “The kids of employees will be going up and down trick-or-treating, so I’ve tasked you and a few others to stay late tonight to hand out candy.” _Yes because he’s too good stay and do something as lowly as that,_ she thought snidely. “Is that a problem for you?” There was no love lost between them. He knew she was smarter than him and her skills surpassed his, so he found ways to knock her down a few pegs to make her feel inferior.

“No, not at all.” She clenched her jaw, her patience waning.

“Good.” He dropped a few files onto her desk and left.

“Ugh.” More computer viruses, she hoped that Applied Sciences would get back to her soon enough because she didn’t know how she would get through all of that without shooting the arrogant prick.

“I don’t like him.” Felicity reared back as Mia crawled out from under her desk. “He’s a meanie. I can shoot him for you.”

“Wh-what are you doing here? Have I done something to incite the anger of the Green Arrow again?” Color rushed into Mia’s cheeks as she scuffed her shoe on the floor.

“I am sorry. Daddy made me sit in time out when we got home. And he only gave me one scoop not two of mint chip for dessert if it makes you feel better.”

Felicity shook her head and chuckled. She suspected that Oliver would’ve been a pushover to their Mia too. He was too soft hearted, which wasn’t a word most people would use to describe him. “That’s okay. I think it was just a bad batch. I’m usually good at baking. Cooking is where I fail the most. I am terrible and have even managed to burn water.”

Mia covered her mouth with her tiny hands to hide her giggles. It was as if she were watching her Mia all over again. As far as she could determine, they were the exact same. “I can’t cook too.” She jumped excitedly at their shared commonality. “We made crunchy eggs ‘cause I forgots to take out the shells.” Felicity made a face at the reminder of her many failed attempts to make an omelet. 

“You never did answer why you’re here.”

“I’m bored.” It was a typical kid response. “Gramma is being boring and daddy had to go to work. Then I remembered you IT Lady.”

Felicity snorted. “You can call me Felicity.”

Mia’s mouth worked over the syllables carefully until she could pronounce it. “That’s a good name. I like it.”

“I do too.” Mia amused her.

“So what are you gonna be for Halloween?”

“I don’t dress up anymore.” Which was true. College was the last time she put effort into picking out a costume and going out to celebrate Halloween.

Mia’s face fell in disappointment. “Oh… well I’m going as Girl Wednesday.”

Felicity froze. She had heard that particular phrasing before and it was from Oliver. He told her a long time ago, he needed her to be his Girl Wednesday. He meant Friday, but the point was the same. It sort of became an inside joke. “Who’s that?” Maybe she should’ve taken a look at those novels.

The little shook her head in amazement and it was obvious she thought Felicity was a simpleton who didn’t know anything. “Only the bestest character ever! She works with Green Arrow. She doesn’t have like a superhero outfit, but she wears lots of cute dresses and skirts. She’s got a ponytail and wears glasses. She wears high heels this big.” She parted her little hands to show Felicity. “Her real name is Meghan Fyre, but Green Arrow calls her ‘his Girl Wednesday’. Will says it’s ‘cause he has the hots for her.”

“He does? Not the hots part but calls Meghan his ‘Girl Wednesday’.”

“Uh huh,” Mia popped her head, her ponytail whipping behind her. “He loves her, but he doesn’t tell her. I asked daddy why ‘cause I told him that was dumb. If he’s like her Prince Charming he should kiss her and tell her.”

Felicity’s brow crinkled. When would the coincidences stop? “What did your dad say?” She was curious to know what Oliver’s answer was. She could imagine. It took her long enough to get him to accept that she had a choice. She chose him and wanted to be with him. He didn’t get to decide everything, which was what she had allowed him to do for too long.

Mia rolled her eyes as she pulled herself up onto the chair next to Felicity. “He said that Green Arrow has a really dangerous job,” Felicity held back a smile at her pronunciation of ‘dangerous’. “He says that he just wants to protect Girl Wednesday and sometimes you gots to make hard choices even if it hurts you. So he pretends that he doesn’t love her.”

That figured. Aside from his Nazi counterpart, then again maybe even then, there was a universal variant in Oliver’s personality. He would protect his loved ones no matter what. He was the one usually hurt the most when realizing now his actions impacted his loved ones and how they in turn reacted. He wasn’t always that forthcoming with the details. “That sounds like something he would say.”

“Boys are stupid. Will, my brother, he says dumb stuff too. He said Green Arrow doesn’t have time for a girlfriend because he’s a badass.”

“Mia!” She exclaimed. “That’s not a word you should be repeating, nor one your brother should be saying.” 

“Aunt Thea says it.” She pointed out as if it was a helping point. 

Felicity took a calming breath. Arguing with a four year old didn’t involve normal, adult logic. They were determined and refused to back down from their positions. “You shouldn’t repeat everything adults say.”

“Aunt Thea isn’t a adult.”

“It’s an and you’re right she’s not, but she’s still a lot older than you. I don’t think your dad would approve of that sort of language, would he?”

Mia’s eyes dropped to her lap. “No. He made Will eat soap. I don’t wanna eat soap.”

Somehow Felicity couldn’t quite picture it, then again maybe it was something he likely took out of the Moira Queen parenting handbook, or maybe it was Raisa. She had done a lot of the raising of young Ollie and Thea Queen. “I won’t tell if you won’t.” Mia zipped up her lips and threw away the key.

“Do you want to be my friend?”

Felicity pretended to think it over, but she knew what the answer was as soon as the words left Mia’s lips. She wanted to get closer to the girl and by extension her brother and father. This was her chance. “Yes, I’ll be your friend.”

“Oh good. The kids at preschool are boring. They don’t even know Green Arrow.” She shook her head. When she was growing up, all Felicity saw when she looked at her daughter was her father. There were things she said, little mannerisms that were just her dad. Her scowl especially was reminiscent of Oliver. “I gotta go before gramma finds out. Will you be here for trick or treating?” Her wide, blue eyes peered up at her innocently.

“Yes, I’ll be handing out candy.”

The preschooler grinned widely at her, displaying all of her tiny teeth. “I see you later then and show you my costume. You can even meet my brother. Bye Fe-li-ci-ty.” Would this girl ever not remind her of Oliver?

“Bye Mia,” she returned the sentiment and watched as the tiny tot glanced around the doorway before scurrying off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's one of my favorite Oliver and Felicity scenes, actually all of their interactions while she's his EA are hilarious. The other scene I referenced in a roundabout way is from season 4 when Felicity is being smug about her invention while on the comms.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this answers some of the questions about Oliver at least.

She should’ve used the time to eat, but Mia’s words struck a chord in her. Girl Wednesday was a private joke she and Oliver shared. It amused her to no end that he was inept at pop culture. She had managed to convince him to watch all of the _Harry Potter_ movies and all 8 seasons of _Game of Thrones_ , but overall he was useless when it came to things like that. His time on the island had changed him. He didn’t spend countless hours watching tv, whilst consuming copious amounts of junk food. He preferred to spend his time planning and training for his next move as opposed to relaxing. He was too antsy to sit still and had passed that trait onto Mia.

Although, perhaps she was partly to blame for that later on. She was the one who wanted to leave Ivy Town the most. She was discontent, not with him, but the notion of being inactive when she could be doing something. Maybe she did understand that restless spirit in him. Sometimes in her weaker moments, she considered how different everything would’ve been had she not convinced him to go back after they left the team the first time. She hated the ‘what if’ game for the reason that it wasn’t productive. It was a rabbit hole without any real answers.

Still, she had always felt guilty for wanting to go back to the lifestyle that caused them so much pain. It had all gone downhill from there. She was paralyzed, their Laurel died, William’s life had been threatened countless times, alien invasions, Nazis (which she still tried not to think about), the Ninth Circle, and their unfortunate trip to Lian Yu. There were good moments slipped in between all of those crises like their vows or Mia’s birth, but it was as if as soon as they stopped one plot, another cropped up. There was never time to just live. It wasn’t until she had that, that she understood what it was he had yearned for back in Ivy Town. By then it was way too late. He was gone and there were no take backs that time.

She was doing it again. Felicity didn’t want to dwell on the past any longer. She didn’t need to because this was a new chance. She chose to focus on her surroundings instead. The _Barnes & Noble_ was massive, but she figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to track down a best selling graphic novel. She knew the author and there was an entire section devoted to that genre. What she hadn’t counted on was an entire aisle devoted to the Green Arrow. Was it really that popular? There were action figures, the first season box set, and loads of other collectibles.

She picked up the first in the series. It was thicker than she thought. Flipping it open to the first page, her heart skipped a beat and tears stung her eyes. There was a dedication and if she wasn’t mistaken it was for her.

_To the real Girl Wednesday, you are the best part of me. You’re the sun rising after the darkest night._

A few tears slipped out as she clutched the book to her chest. It was Oliver. Her fingers traced over the words, her eyes studied them, memorizing them. Hadn’t Oliver said something similar? He never gave himself enough credit, but she always believed in him and his potential for greatness. She knew part of it was her influence that forced him to take a hard look at himself and re-evaluate his choices and the countless bodies he left in his wake. But she also knew it was in him the whole time.

Felicity decided to peek at the other novels in search of a dedication page. She had to know. She couldn’t explain how it was possible, but it was. It just had to be. Or did this world’s Oliver bestow the title onto another? She didn’t want to consider that possibility. It would’ve led her to wondering if she was replaceable in his life, just another variable in an endless equation.

_Girl Wednesday, you’ve always believed in me the most even when I didn’t believe in myself. None of this would be possible without you. I strive every day to be better than I was yesterday._

She flipped open the next book until she found it.

_To my Angel, you saved me from the darkness. I thought I would be stuck there forever yearning for redemption, but your light saved me. You convinced me that I could be a different kind of man. I could be my own man._

It was there in each book. A small section of words written to a woman who had changed him.

_For my heart, you loved me even when I brought you nothing but pain and suffering. You gave me happiness when you told me you loved me, but I think I knew before you ever said anything. I was too dumb and blind to see that you were there the entire time, waiting for me to choose you._

The last one floored her. It was a special edition of the first novel. It was to celebrate the five year anniversary of its’ publication. There was an entire foreword added on top of the original dedication page. There were words most readers would ignore unless they were dying to know, but she wouldn’t. They were everything.

_I started out my life with the intention to have fun. I had no regard for anyone else but myself. I had my vices and took liberties with hordes of women because why not? I carelessly broke girls’ hearts because I was terrified of committing, of being dependable, and depending on anyone. I was fearful. What did I have to offer to women who were better and greater than I could ever hope to be? I did my best to push them away. I took away their choices to decide as I knew better than them, and I wasn’t the man they thought I was._

_I went on a long journey of discovery that left me wandering in the darkness. I wasn’t just touching it. It surrounded me on all sides and there was no way out of it. It was all consuming. I returned home changed and in my mind that translated to taking things into my own hands. I disregarded the feelings of others including my own family, pushed away those who cared for me, and had it in my head that my way was the only way. The thing about that is that it was the real Girl Wednesday, my Girl Wednesday who was right. She inspired me, showed me that there was more to me, more that I could do to help those in need. I know I’ll never see her again at least the version of her I knew, but I hope she carries around that goodness and light in her still._

_This series was a way to honor her. She gave me back something I thought I lost. She was the first person in years who made me genuinely smile, and she never knew. She had no idea that the first time I saw her, she was completely unaware of me. I was spying sort of like the Green Arrow, and there she was. She was talking to herself as she was prone to do, and I realized I wasn’t dead inside. I may have been half alive, but I wasn’t unfeeling. There was hope for me. I had something left to give. With her help later, much later, I learned how to be the best version of myself. I discovered that family was the people who loved you and at the end of the day were willing to do anything to save you even if it was from yourself. They forgave you eventually because they love you. I realized I wasn’t broken after all._

_All of you often ask if Girl Wednesday is a real person and she is. The name was an accident because I’m hopeless with pop culture references, but it stuck. She made fun of me and corrected me, but it was far too late. I liked calling her My Girl Wednesday. She’s modeled after the most amazing woman who was forced to make sacrifices because she loved a man that didn’t always do right by her like in the novels. She would likely disagree with me and say that she made her own choices, and I should just shut up and accept that. She would be right and then say ‘I told you so’ because that’s just her. I would pretend to be annoyed, but secretly I find it charming and adorable. She usually is right._

_So while it is unlikely she will ever read this, I want it to be known that none of this would exist without her. She helped me find myself when I thought there was nothing left. I believed myself incapable of loving anyone ever again and then she burst into my life in a swirl of bright colors and run-on sentences. The hardest part about life is accepting that you deserve good things. Fear should never be a factor when it comes to matters of the heart. I told her that no matter who either of us becomes in the future, there’s one undeniable fact, I’ll always love her. It’s why I have dedicated the entire series to her and created Meghan Fyre._

Felicity sniffled, choked back a half laugh, half sob as she finished reading. She brushed away the tears as she grabbed the stack of books. She didn’t want to freak out any of the sales associates or other customers with her blubbering. Initially, she came in for the first one and would consider purchasing the others at a later date if she liked it enough, but Oliver had convinced her with his beautiful, heartfelt words to buy the whole collection. She knew it was him. Others hadn’t connected the dots, but she had been married to the man. She was the only person who saw all of him. She had run a few times and then ran back because her mom was right. What she and Oliver shared didn’t come around every day or in every lifetime, and they were lucky to have found one another the first time. She knew that deep in her bones even when she was at her angriest with him. 

It was a bit ironic Oliver was an author given that he wasn’t a man of many words, at least none that he shared often. He was a man of action and preferred to let his actions speak for him even if they were stupid. He wasn’t big on discussing his feelings, or when he was ready to, she wasn’t. They had each dismissed their feelings out of fear and hurt themselves more in the process. They wasted a lot of time pretending and shutting one another out.

Although, now she wasn’t sure if she wanted to throttle him or hug him and never let go. Did he doubt she would find him? It was a promise. She hadn’t vowed until death do we part. It was forever. How did she even address something like this with him? Would he be excited to see her? Did he want to? Had he moved on? There weren’t any mentions of another woman and she had stalked him around the city on street cams, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Oliver kept his private affairs to himself.

She wasn’t terribly surprised he felt that way. Oliver hated the press. They were intrusive and noisy, and constantly invaded his privacy.

Felicity saw the real Oliver, the one out of the spotlight, who wasn’t the Green Arrow, who was just a man sorting out his life. Oliver struggled with his identity, how to balance his life, and how to let others in. It didn’t come easy and there was a learning curve, but he had done the work. He worked to discover his place in the world and in her life. When she lacked hope, he was the one to give it back to her.

“Find everything you were looking for?”

She blinked in surprise. Oliver accused her of a lack of spacial awareness and he wasn’t wrong. When she zoned out, everything around her ceased to exist. She had made it to the front of the line without noticing. “Oh uh yes.” She placed her books on the counter.

“Ahh The Green Arrow, you know you kind of remind me of Meghan, you know Girl Wednesday.”

Felicity felt a flush creep up her neck at the attention. Flipping through the pages she had noticed a bit of a resemblance. She would kill him later for that. Well maybe because she was flattered and she realized that she wasn’t a footnote in his story.

“That’s funny. My middle name is Megan. To be honest, I’m only really reading it because of my daughter- my friend’s daughter I mean. She’s going as Girl Wednesday for Halloween, and I figured it would give us something to talk about.”

“It is a popular costume. Meghan is a total badass on the computer and I loved when she punched Elena Morozov in the third novel, it was a long time coming. She’s the main reason I told my parents I was getting a degree in computer science.”

“Wow, that’s amazing.” Then, Felicity smirked. She had a feeling about who Elena was in real life if the novels were based on their lives in another universe. She wished she was presented with the opportunity to do something like that. “You’ve definitely given me something to look forward to,” she smiled as she slid her membership card across the counter.

“Enjoy and have a wonderful day,” the clerk said as she handed her the bag.

“Thank you and you have a great day yourself.”

If she had a little extra pep in her step, she would never admit it was because of Oliver, nope not at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay, things have just been a little hectic lately. I hope all of you are keeping safe in these uncertain times.

Felicity knows she shouldn’t. Then again, she has already crossed several privacy boundaries in the last few weeks, what’s a few more. Every time her tablet pings, she resists the urge to check to the notification. She’s violated his privacy, but then again he and his family are the ones who post everything online. She wasn’t aware he knew what social media was. When he came back from the island, he was as inept as they came when it came to developing technology. Explaining Twitter and Instagram to him were a headache in themselves, and he eventually hired someone to be his social media coordinator when he was running for mayor.

Here on this earth, not only does he know what Instagram is, he posts on his profile. It isn’t often, but enough to keep in the spotlight. He has millions of followers, not that she’s particularly surprised. Oliver Queen had been in the tabloids when he started partying with his best friend at sixteen. He was a billionaire and he was unbelievably good looking. It was honestly unfair. Sometimes Felicity couldn’t help but be jealous when other women openly flirted with him when she was standing right next to him and she would tighten her grip, clear her throat, and glare until they got the message. That kind of envy was something she hadn’t experienced before Oliver’s appearance in her life.

Then again, she was positive it was the same for him. Before her, he had never had cause to be jealous of anyone. He had all the girls he could want with a flash of his roguish grin. He was rich. But she saw it flash across his face the moment she introduced him to Ray and then there was Barry. He wasn’t good at hiding it, but she admired his efforts and restraint.

Anyway, she used social media to get a clearer picture of his family life. The Queen family was full of scandal and a considerate amount of drama given his parents’ bed partners. It was different here.

He and Thea were close. She spent time with William and Mia. She was doing well in school. Felicity may or may not have hacked into her school records. Oliver was plagued with constant worry over his little sister. He shouldered the blame for some of the misfortune that befell his sister. In this new world, they had something different.

Thea was the same. She teased her brother. She cared about her family immensely if all of the photos she posted were anything to go by. It was strange to see her being a normal teenager. Seventeen was when her life started to change and not really for the better. Oliver loved his sister in return. He wasn’t the same hardened man who pushed everyone away.

It was Oliver she was having a tough time understanding. In many ways, he was similar to his Earth-1/prime self. He was a recluse, but not to the same extent. He regularly attending baseball games with his kids. He wore the hell out of a suit, and sue her for noticing. He shopped at Whole Foods, no real surprise there. At least, she knew Mia and William ate properly every night.

There was a new dimension to him that was mostly unexplored in his counterpart, father. He dotes on his children if his social media profile was anything to go on. She failed to hide her smile when she saw Mia’s little feet on top cause that’s what she desired. She wanted them to have all of those moments that she didn't even have with her own dad. She wanted him to have every little smile, all the kisses, hugs, and cuddles, but it didn't work out for them the way they imagined. At least, he was finally getting some of it. A man like Oliver deserved it all. He put everyone before himself and it was time he got to enjoy life.

He took them trick-or-treating. He attended Mia’s ballet recitals. Her image of Mia was a contrast too. While her daughter strayed away from the vigilante lifestyle and was definitely an heiress by all accounts, her Mia never settled on anything. She flitted from one activity to the next, one major to another. This Mia was interested in The Green Arrow, ballet, and baseball. She could talk the ear off of anyone. She was mischievous, but didn't seem entitled like her father and aunt were before they grew up. She was a well rounded child. William and Mia were closer in age and actual playmates. They had the same open adoration for each other and maybe that was universal.

She online stalked the entire family including his mother. She just needed to see them, reassure herself that it was all real. Acclimating to this new world was difficult when everything was so different yet similar. All of the older members of the Queen family were active and really only posted pictures of their family. They kept away from their real private lives and never commented on rumors about relationships or the like. They just wanted people to view them as normal, well normal for people who were extremely rich, and had no true concept of how money worked. By all accounts, the family was thriving.They spent time together like a regular family, and she was happy for Oliver. He got to have his mother. She knew that on Earth-1, some events were different. She had asked her friends about it. She wanted, no needed to know. While there were few deviations, there were still enough to have an impact on their timeline. 

Her tablet and phone continue to ping, but she has to keep her mind occupied so she treads a line. Oliver said he was impressed by her hacking abilities, but she’s not sure he would like what she’s spent her free time doing. It is kind of creepy, in a serial killer stalker kind of a way, and she doesn’t him to think she’s a crazy axe murderer.

The day is a lost cause after she returns from lunch. Some idiot loaded a virus on his computer again after watching porn at work. She knows she’s an IT girl, but she’s qualified for more than this. Handling viruses and computer malfunctions is below her skill level, and her boss is doing it to be vindictive. There’s no way he isn’t. It isn’t fair. She wants the chance to help improve the security of the company. There were a couple of breaches to their firewalls recently, but every time she volunteers her services, Rick the Dick informs her condescendingly it’s not her place when she has a freaking masters, two of them actually to his Bachelor’s. The most advanced job she’s been assigned is to update software, which is more interesting than dealing with crashing computers. Still, she wants a challenge.

“Hiya Fe-li-ci-ty,” her head snaps up instantly at the sound of the little girl’s voice.

Tuns out Mia is full of surprises. Given her words about Girl Wednesday, she was under the impression Mia would go for one of her softer, more girly looks she wore before changing jobs a few times and becoming a permanent fixture of OTA. Mia shocks her with dark jeans, a black shirt, and a leather jacket. Black boots adorn her feet, and Felicity wants to slap herself. She should’ve known. Mia likes dress up and she thinks Meghan Fyre is a badass. 

“Hi Mia,” she greets.

The girl’s hair is held back in a ponytail, but loose strands flutter around her face. Something bright catches her eyes, and before she has a chance to look further, Mia is rolling up the sleeve of her jacket. “I got a cast.” She informs her. Mia winces a little in pain. Her arm has hurt all day and her daddy said she had to wait until they got home for more 'cation.

Felicity is out of her office chair and kneeling in front of the girl within seconds. A bright pink cast covers the girl’s arm. “What happened sweetheart?” The term of endearment slips from her mouth. She can’t help but fret over her even if she’s not really hers. It's still Mia.

Mia frowns. “I went to preschool well it’s really pre-k after I left here. I was doing the monkey bars and Billy, he's seven, pushed me off. I fell on my arm. It hurt a lot. I cried.” A few tears fall from her eyes. “Daddy is at the school. William says he’s taking care of the little bastard.” Normally, Felicity would chastise both children for the word, but rage simmers under her calm exterior. Some little bully pushed her kid (it’s all semantics) off the monkey bars and she got injured. “We went to the ‘mergency room at the 'spical. I picked out pink. William drew a picture for me and daddy made all the hearts.”

Felicity’s heart melts. Oliver is an amazing dad, the type of dad she always thought he would be. He wanted a different kind of relationship with his children than he had with his parents. He wanted them to grow up in a home, not a gigantic, impersonal mansion that was decorated more for appearance. His goal was to make them feel loved and appreciated every minute of their lives. “I hope your dad doesn’t do anything to get into trouble.” She’s aware of how he gets when someone he loves is hurt. Hadn’t he spent his time hunting down ghosts instead of with her? He was willing to do anything if it meant protecting his family, and she knew that extended to every incarnation of him even his Nazi counterpart.

Mia waves off her concerns. “He can beat him up.” Felicity laughs at the simplicity of the statement. “He won’t. Billy is in second grade. Daddy is a grown up. It would be cool if he could. Will said he would.” Felicity has no doubts about that. "He said no one hurts me."

“Where’s your brother?” Mia is forming a pattern and Felicity doesn’t want anyone to think anything untoward is happening. It could be detrimental for her job if Mia keeps disappearing only to pop up in the IT Department talking to her. “Is there an adult with you?” Oliver is at the school dealing with that headache inducing situation, so she wonders who brought Mia to QC. She has spent more time tracking her father's activities. It seemed less stalker-ish than following children across the city. Mia and William don't usually cross paths with their dad until he picks them up from daycare.

“Oh, he’s down there in the room with the big table. There’s treats and candy, but…” she glances down shyly, a soft smile forming. “I wanted to see you and share my candy.” She holds out a few skittles. Felicity takes them and eats them. Mia's smile grows. 

She wants to pull her into her arms, but she doesn’t want to freak out Mia. They’ve only met a few times, and Mia might like her, however a hug could be pushing things too far. Mia does it for her and throws her arms around Felicity. Her head snuggles in under Felicity’s chin and she sighs contently. “You smell good.”

Felicity runs her fingers through Mia’s curly ponytail. “You do too.” She smells like baby shampoo and strawberries. Felicity imprints the smell to her memory, unsure if she will have another opportunity to be this close again. “You never did answer if there’s an adult with you.”

“My Uncle Dig, his name is really John, he brought Sara with him. She’s my bestest friend. She’s a year older than me and can be kind of bossy,” she attempts to whisper, glancing around to make sure no one is around to hear. “Aunt Lyla took JJ to go with his friends. Aunt Thea is going to a party.” She sighs loudly and pouts. Her bottom lip juts out pathetically and her eyes glisten. She's got to give the little girl credit. She knows how to put on a performance. “She says I can’t go ‘cause I’m not big, but I am.” Mia insists.

Felicity hides her snort. Mia is too adorable for words. She’s aggravated with her aunt for telling her she wasn’t old enough to attend a party, which is sure to have alcohol and drugs given the kind of people Thea hung around. It is no place for a small child, over her dead body. “Remember what we talked about this morning?” She reminds her.

Her tiny face scrunches up as she tries to think back to their conversation about differences in age. Her finger rhythmically taps her chin. She resembles Oliver. While physically they are closer in appearance, it’s moments like this where Mia is her dad. Their faces contort the same way and they’ve each got their own little ticks. Oliver rubs his fingers together and Mia taps her chin. “Is it about her being older?” She scowls like the mini-Oliver she is.

“That would be it.”

She throws her arms up dramatically and exhales. “Still don’t think it’s fair,” she grumbles. "I want to have fun."

“‘Come on, let’s go get you some candy. You’ve got lots of other floors to hit if you want to fill your bucket.”

Mia shrugs indifferently. “Candy is okay. It would be better if my arm didn’t hurt and the cast wasn’t itchy.” She wishes she could fix that for the four year old. “So do you have a boyfriend?”

Felicity sputters incoherently, choking on her words as she tries to form a response. The girl has the same lack of subtlety as her father. It had to be genetic because William was the same. They all were terrible liars too. It amazed her honestly how transparent they were. 

“Oh come on, that’s not that grown-up of a question. Even Princess Anna has a boyfriend and I think they're gonna get married. How old are you?”

it is official. She’s pathetic. A four year old is calling her out on her lack of a love life and comparing it to a Disney cartoon. She ignores the age comment because it starts to remind her a little too much of her mother, and one Donna Smoak is enough for any lifetime.

A grin forms on Mia’s face, growing wider by the second. “If you don’t, my daddy needs a girlfriend. He’s bad with women. Auntie Thea says he’s a petual spatula.”

Felicity thought over Mia’s words as she attempted to figure out what the girl was attempting to say. She understood everything up until the petual spatula. What was that? As she works her brain over, it comes to her in a flash. She’s reminded of an old _Full House_ episode where Danny was bachelor of the month.

“Do you mean a perpetual bachelor?”

“Uh huh, that’s what I said. She keeps telling him he’s gotta date. He never does. But really I want him to find me and Will, a mommy.” Her voice is soft and wistful.

Felicity is glad Mia is focused on holding her hand and walking down to the conference room. Her eyes swim with unshed tears at the bold statement. She wishes to fill in that role, but it’s not her place. She wants nothing more than to be William and Mia’s mom again. It had been her purpose after losing Oliver. If she hadn't had them, she couldn't say where she would be.

“So do you gots a boyfriend or not? My daddy can date you. He likes blondes well really he likes Girl Wednesday. He talks about her a lot and says she’s real, but I never met her.” Which is the gist of someone’s existence in a child’s mind. Mia doesn’t believe her dad. “You kinda look like the pictures daddy draws.” Yes, another thing to add to her list of topics for later discussion with one Oliver Jonas Queen. “And if you kinda look like her and you work on puters too, maybe daddy will fall in love with you.”

“Maybe,” Felicity mumbles. She doesn’t want to give the girl unrealistic expectations or to have her blabbing to her daddy about the psycho employee who wants to date her dad. That was certain to get her fired and a restraining order.

The conference room is full of some of the other IT lackeys who were stuck like her. It's not a particularly big room, but the IT department uses it when they have departmental meetings. She spots William immediately over by the dessert table sneaking glances at Dig every couple of seconds before returning his gaze upon the cupcakes. He's trying to sneak one without getting caught. He’s dressed as the Winter Soldier. What was with the family and heroes? There’s a whole world of costumes out there, and Mia and William choose to dress as heroes. 

Mia tugs on her hand excitedly when she spots her brother. “Come on, come meet Will. He didn’t believe me when I said you were real.” She allows herself to be dragged and stands uncomfortably when William fixes his attention on her. His mouth falls open in surprise as he glances between her and his sister. “See Will,” she jumps up and down. “I told you she was real. She’s like Girl Wednesday. She looks like her too.”

William flushes in embarrassment. He clearly thought his sister was telling stories. Felicity can’t blame him. Mia does talk a lot and has something to say about everything. Her imagination is powerful and overactive too. “So you’re Felicity?” He questions her, his voice deepening as he pulls his sister to his side. The distrust is written all over his face. Mia scowls at her brother and attempts to shove him away. She’s proud that he doesn’t trust her right away. It pleases her to know how much he cares for his sister and wants to protect her.

She holds out her hand for him to shake. “I am. You must be the famous William.” His brows scrunch together. He has the signature confused Oliver Queen expression. “Mia told me all about you. She must love you a lot and you’re probably a good brother.”

He shifts his weight, appraising her, his arm around his sister. “I am. I try to be anyway. I love her too.” His eyes drift down to his sister and soften as she beams up at him.

Mia moves towards him, her arms outstretched and William pulls her in close. “Oh you two are the cutest.” She exclaims happily. The young Queen siblings pull apart, their faces a little pink at realizing someone witnessed their loving moment. They don't want anyone to think they actually like each other. 

Felicity feels a tightness in her chest. At first she attributes it to the children in front of her and how happy she is, but then the itchiness starts and she finds she can’t breathe. “Felicity?” Mia’s face contorts with worry. “Are you okay?”

William is pale and frightened beside her. “Should I get a grown-up?” She hears the panic in his voice.

She nods yes as she starts coughing. She doesn’t understand. She hasn’t had any contact with nuts of any kind. She goes out of her way to avoid them. The room goes out of focus and she finds herself falling, the last thing she sees are piercing blue eyes. “‘liver,” she mumbles.

"It's okay. I've got you honey." She might've imagined that. She hopes she didn't. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to spend some time with Oliver. I did go back and add a detail or two to the previous chapter to hint at what happened.

Oliver is having a shitty day. It started the moment he woke up late. He was a precise man and kept a tight schedule. He was occasionally late, but he did his best to be professional and a good parent. His life was practically down to a science during the week. The weekend was the only time he allowed himself the luxury of sleeping in and having lazy days with his kids.

Sometimes they did it during the week. They would pretend they were sick and call out of school and work, and spend the day together. His kids were his life. That morning however, they were a pain in his ass.

Mia woke up grumpy and uncooperative as he ushered her around the house, doing his best to get her ready. “No daddy, I don’t want braids.” She whines as he starts working through the knots in her hair. He didn’t know how it happened. He braided her hair every night, but every morning when he woke her up, nearly all of the hair had escaped over night. It wasn’t a fun process for either of them even though he was gentle. He didn’t want to hurt his daughter by being rough.

“Mia,” he warns, his patience wearing thin. He could hear William downstairs. At least one of his kids listens to him.

She pouts and crosses her arms as she glares up at him. He suppresses a groan. He knows this is his karma for all of the shenanigans in his youth. From the time he could walk and talk, he was a terror. It’s only right that his daughter gives him a run for his money. She is extremely stubborn and determined. She reminds him way too much of himself. “But daddy, I want curls.”

“Okay,” he decides to compromise. He doesn’t have the time to battle it out with his daughter over her hair preferences, but he’s not dumb enough to allow her to wear it down. That’s reserved strictly for school pictures. “How about we put it up in a pretty ponytail? Would that work for you? You’ll have your curls, but your hair will be out of your face.” He’s learned that lesson a few times.

She takes her time to think it over, which isn’t helping with their running late situation. He reigns his temper so he doesn’t snap at her. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Last night was a late work night, and by the time he crawled into bed, he was wishing desperately for it to be Friday. “Fine,” she agrees. “Can you put a bow in?”

“I can do that,” he grins at her.

He never thought he would succeed as a father. While he loved his father, Robert Queen wasn’t a perfect man or father. He had envisioned the path of Oliver’s life from the moment he was born and hated any deviations that took him farther from where his father expected. It chafed like a skin that never quite fit. It was one of the reasons he rebelled as much as he had in his youth and had done way too many stupid things. He couldn’t bring himself to regret any of those things as they led to the existence of his children, but he certainly regretted a few, the pee incident came to mind. One day his children would know the kind of person he had been in his youth, and he still hadn’t found a satisfactory explanation for any of it, at least none that would make sense to them. 

Becoming a father put everything into perspective for him; it was the first time his actions weren’t for his sole benefit. There was someone out there depending on him to be a decent man and father, to finally grow up.

William was born away from the spotlight and Oliver wasn’t as involved in his life then. Samantha wanted him to clean up his act and the loss of his father triggered something in him. It happened when he was nineteen. His son was a few months old at the time, and he realized he needed to get serious. William needed a father, not a man who went in and out of his life, whose life centered around partying and the next girl.

His son’s mother died when he was two in a car accident and it took him two years to gain custody of him from his grandparents. He wanted to be in his life, not a bystander without any say. He hasn’t regretted a single moment of being part of his son’s life. It’s been an honour to have the opportunity to raise him, see him grow.

What was unexpected was the addition of Mia to their little family. She was a surprise in every way possible, but he wouldn’t change that. It did make him more responsible about the women he slept with going forward. Mia was left with social services who contacted him to tell him he had a little girl, or at least a baby whose mother claimed him as the father. The mother signed away her rights and preferred to remain anonymous for her own reasons and didn’t leave any contact information. A simple DNA test proved she was in fact his, and as soon as he saw her, he knew. She was Mia. 

Overnight, he became a father of two, and he wouldn’t change it for the world. His children were everything to him. They were whiny, obnoxious, sweet, drippy, sneezy, and so many other things, but they were his. He would do anything for them. They lit up his life in the best ways.

His sister continued to push him to have a life outside of his kids and his work, but he couldn’t. None of the women he met were appealing or captivating enough to keep his attention. Many had an issue with him having kids and made a huge deal out of it. His friends continued to set him up on dates until it went horribly wrong. One woman he had dated for a time yelled at his daughter and slapped his son when he had run into the office to handle an emergency. He came home to traumatized, crying children. She was cut out of his life and his family made it a mission to ruin her fledgling journalism career.

He vowed after that incident to never bring another woman into his children’s lives. It was easier that way. There would be no attachments and he could just focus on his kids. He wishes he could give them a mom, but nothing would compare to his dreams and the woman who occupied them.

“Tell me a story.” Mia demands.

His lips twitch. He knows she wants another Girl Wednesday story. Those are the only kind she really likes. “About what?”

Her big blue eyes narrow in the mirror and she fixes him a look of irritation. “You know,” her voice lilts.

“Okay, give me a moment to think,” he tells her as he gently gathers her hair in his hand. “I’ve got one.” She leans back, but he pushes her forward. He is trying to do her hair. “So this is when she’s not behind the computers and is just Meghan Fyre. Meghan and Beck went on their around the world trip after she saved him from nearly dying. They had beat a really bad man who tried to destroy their home, and Beck had finally accepted his love her and her love for him.”

“‘Cause she loves him, right? That’s why she saved him from the bad guy.” Mia adores a good love story. She’s obsessed with princesses and musicals about love. He thinks it’s Thea’s influence on his daughter. She was way too excited to have a niece and Mia adores her aunt.

“Yes and he loves her.”

“How much?”

“What?” He isn’t sure what she means by that.

“How much does he love her? I know she loves him since she saved him lots of times when he was being a dumb boy and not listening.” The _because she’s smarter than him_ went unsaid, but it was implied.

He snorts. She’s definitely spending too much time with his sister. She loved his graphic novel series and had her own issues with boys being dumb boys. “He loves her so much that he was willing to be unhappy if it meant she was happy and safe.”

Mia rolls her eyes as he twists the elastic around her hair. “That’s stupid. If he loves her, he should kiss her and tell her.”

Oliver knows. “He was scared.”

Mia’s forehead crinkles and he sees her confusion reflected in her eyes. “I don’t get it.”

“Well, he didn’t have a good history with people he loves. They always got hurt or died.” She nods her head to show him she’s following along for the moment. “Their first date wasn’t how he planned and it went bad. He decided to push her away and she fell for someone else.” Maybe that was too strong, but she did get into another relationship to forget about him and his fear.

“But he loves her.” Mia doesn’t get it. Grown-ups were so dumb. It was obvious that Beck loved Meghan from the beginning. She made him smile, laugh, and want to be a good person. She loves him a lot. “She gave up a lot for him. She didn’t fall in love ‘cause she was in love.”

Oliver dips his head in agreement. He’s not here to argue with his daughter. He’s trying to tell her the story, then again his daughter can’t help but interrupt; Mia has something to say about everything and her opinion is law. It baffles her every time he talks about Beck pushing away his feelings for Meghan. She hates that part. “She did, but he didn’t know how to love. See Mia Pizzeria, he thought he had been in love, but he discovered it was nothing compared to what he felt for her. What he felt for her was enough to power a universe.” Mia’s eyes widen and she gazes up at him in wonder. He sprays a little hairspray to help with her fly aways. His sister was a major source of advice when Mia’s grew out of the curly tufts.

“He loved her that much?” She’s not really asking a question. She’s silently marveling over how much that is. It’s a lot by her estimation. The universe was huge.

Oliver fastens a navy and white striped bow to her hair. Mia stands patiently as he fixes it into place. It is a familiar routine for them. “Yes, but back to the story, they traveled all over the place. They spent a lot of time in Bali. Kuta, it’s a beautiful beach-“

“Can we go there?” She cuts in.

“Maybe one day if I ever finish the story.”

“Oops,” she giggles into her hands.

He tries to fake annoyance, but he can’t. “Okay so it’s this resort area. She had never left America before, and so this was a first for her. She was amazed at how blue the waters were. How green everything was around them because she grew up in a desert. It amazed her that there could be so much life.”

“Like when we went to bean?”

“The Caribbean?” She nods her head, her ponytail bouncing behind her. “Yeah, it was that clear. Now stand still as I curl your hair.” It’s naturally curly, but they were limp after her sleeping on them. His sister taught him what to do. “It turns out though that while she was enjoying her vacation around the world she was always still being Girl Wednesday.” Mia dramatically gasps as predicted. “She found a way to connect to the Internet when there wasn’t any and was helping the team even though they had left.”

“Wow!” Mia is impressed. She knew Meghan was good at puters, but that was awesome. She just went to her dad whenever she needed Wi-Fi.

“Yeah,” Oliver chuckles at her expression. “She missed a boat once when she was helping them and pretended to be sick another time. She found ways around their private time.”

“That’s not very romantic of her. She should be kissing her boyfriend.” Mia frowns. She thought when they ran off to travel the world they would finally just be in love. They had beat tons of bad guys and got rid of the creepy boyfriend, and it was finally time for happily ever after. “So no happily ever after?”

Oliver buries his face in his daughter’s hair as he hides a smile. He loves his daughter. She never fails to make him laugh or make his day brighter by just being herself.

“Yes and no to your other question. She had a purpose. She’s- Meghan isn’t the type of woman who likes to sit around and wait for the action to happen. She has to help and so she found a way to offer her services because as much as she loved him it wasn’t enough and part of her was scared.”

“By lying?”

He sighs. “Yes, but she had good intentions. Beck wasn’t that mad when he found out. He was a little disappointed because he thought they had left it all behind and she was ready to make a life with him.”

“This doesn’t sound very happy. Why was she scared?”

“Her dad left when she was young. She didn’t want to lose herself in love because she couldn’t trust it. I was going to tell you about when they went surfing for the first time, but we don’t have time for that now.” He picks her up and plops her on the ground. “Let’s go feed you, so we can brush your teeth and drop you off with your grandma. She’s going to take you to pre-k today.”

William is at the island eating when they arrive downstairs. He barely glances up to acknowledge his dad and sister too invested in his book of the day. His son didn’t inherit that trait from him, but he’s proud. He must be doing something right. “Hey buddy, eat your breakfast, we don’t have time to dawdle this morning.” William pauses and shoots his dad a look that says it’s his fault. “You can read later, focus on your breakfast. Okay Mia, what do you want? There’s french toast sticks or cereal.” Normally he condemns freezer breakfasts and prefers to cook for his kids, or if Raisa is there, she cooks, but this was the reason they had them. Sometimes their mornings were frantic and there wasn’t time for a leisurely breakfast.

“Toast sticks.” Oliver saw that coming. Mia loves anything sweet and involving syrup.

Twenty minutes later, the family hustles out of their suburban home, headed for the city. Pre-k doesn’t start until 9:30, which is why he drops William off at Starling Prep first before making his way to QC. Moira is in the lobby waiting when they enter. Security nods to them and they pass through.

“You’re late.”

He bites back a sarcastic retort. His mother didn’t need to state the obvious. “Yes mom, I know. We had a late start and it’s been hectic.”

She purses her lips. His mother is still miffed years later that he decided to venture out on his own. His company technically is under the QC umbrella, but there’s little involvement. He used his trust fund to start it up and asked for nothing in return. He knows she expected him to take up the mantle as the CEO after his father’s demise, but it wasn’t for him. He knew that it wasn’t a good idea. He knew nothing about running a company and feared he would run it into the ground with his lack of experience. Instead he focused on getting dual degrees in English Lit and business, and then announced his plans upon his graduation. It helped that he did in fact finish college instead of flunking out again. When he started his company, he got to start from the ground and build his way up as opposed to filling someone else’s shoes.

“Grandma, I want to show you what I learned at gymnastics.” Mia bounces in place and Oliver grins smugly at his mother. The sugar from breakfast has made his daughter hyper, and he doesn’t feel bad handing her over to his mother.

She smacks his arm as she shifts her gaze to his daughter. Her eyes soften and a fond smile replaces her frown. While he and his sister had their issues with their mom, there was no denying she loved her grandchildren. “Why don’t you say goodbye to your dad, and we can go up to my office where you can show me? Maybe I can even see part of your dance for your recital next month.”

Mia acquiesces. She has a mat in her grandma’s office for her gymnastics. They got it after the time Mia bumped her head on the floor doing a forward roll.

Oliver crouches down and Mia jumps into his arms. “Be a good girl for grandma and Grandpa Walter. I love you, Mia.” He presses his lips to her crown and Mia sighs happily.

“Love you too daddy.”

“Uncle John is going to pick you up from school. And then you, me, and William will hit all of the floors tonight so you can get lots and lots of candy. And then we can hit a few in our neighborhood.” Her eyes sparkle in delight at the thought of all that candy. “Your teeth will rot because of it.”

“Great!” She beams. Mia kisses her dad’s lips, and then takes her grandma’s hand. “Bye daddy.”

Oliver’s day went downhill from there. He was expecting the final edits back on his book, so that he could send it over to printing. The release is stressing him out and he wants to read his hair out. They’re hoping to have it on the shelves around Christmas, but then his design editor went into labor. She wasn’t due for another month. Her unexpected labor has thrown a wrench in their plans given that she’s on maternity leave for the next three months.

They were mostly settled on everything concerning the design. It was about to go to print after all. She wanted him to recolor one of his illustrations and to read over his dedication. Otherwise, they had agreed on the layout. There were a few disagreements over font, cover design, and general layout, but they had settled all of that two months ago when they first started the process. Sales was already teasing the press with the release and they had even released the first chapter to tease their readers. The excitement was growing and so is the online chatter if the emails from his PR department are an indication.

Then as if the day couldn’t get worse, there was an issue with one of their newest author’s. They were behind on their writing schedule, and were supposed to have sent over the newest chapters. Their book was supposed to be finished by thanksgiving, so that it could hit the shelves in February.

Their servers crashed around lunch, and the day was a total loss after that given the fact almost every department worked online. Their IT department isn’t as skilled as the one at QC. There’s only five of them because they’re not a major publishing company. They are doing well and have really built their audience over the years, and a few of their books are in the process of being adapted for the big screen. It’s an exciting time for them, but they’re still growing.

Oliver is proud of his achievements. He never thought in his wildest dreams that he would be where he is. There’s even a plan to start an imprint in the new year, but first they’ve got to get through this one without anymore disasters. The year has been tough on them all with leaked chapters, the head of marketing abruptly quitting after a disagreement, and then everything that happened that day. It was a hell of a year for them.

He calls the head of IT and listens to an endless stream of apologies and promises that they’re fixing the problem, and everything should be in working order again. He calms himself because he learned a long time ago he couldn’t get angry when things went awry. He had to roll with the punches. It went against everything he stood for, but losing his temper wouldn’t do anything. “Okay, just let me know when they’re back up,” he says calmly.

His day worsens when his cellphone starts ringing ten minutes later. It’s the school. “Hello?” He answers gruffly, ignoring the chastisement about being polite that sounds vaguely like his mother.

“Hello, is this Mr. Queen?” He recognizes the voice immediately as Mia’s teacher.

“Yes, is something wrong? Is she sick?” His mind automatically moves to the worst case scenarios. He can’t help it. It’s the way he is wired and he doesn’t know how to change it at this point in his life. “Do I need to pick her up?” He doesn’t care if he has to leave. The day is a disaster anyway, so what does it matter if he leaves it to his right hand to handle.

“Yes actually, Mia needs to go the emergency room. There was an incident as recess, and the nurse thinks her arm might be broken.”

He hears the blood pounding in his ears at her words. His daughter was hurt. Was she scared? Crying? “Is she okay?”

“It took a while for us to get her to stop crying and we’ve given her an ice pack.” The school can’t do much more for her without risking a potential lawsuit.

“Yes, yes I am on my way.”

He texts Tommy to inform him that he’s in charge of the office. He’s the VP anyway, so a lot of the duties are already his. Tommy doesn’t hesitate to reply that he’s got it taken care of.

Oliver breaks a few laws to get to his daughter’s school. They could arrest him or send him a ticket later. Nothing was going to stop him from reaching his daughter in her time of need. William is there in the nurse’s office, holding her to his side, and telling her jokes to make her smile.

“How does the ocean say hello?” He hears him ask as he signs his kids out. William wouldn’t leave his sister and it works better if he has both of them with him. Mia shrugs her shoulders. “It waves.”

Mia laughs, and the sound warms his insides. He can spot where the tears dried on her rosy cheeks, but knowing that she’s capable of laughter forces him to finally relax. Mia’s teacher is there and pulls him aside before he can rush to his daughter.

“What happened? How did she break her arm?”

There are monitors on the playground to prevent something like this from happening. Mia is only four. Ms. Taylor sighs. “The second graders were out later than they were supposed to be, and when Mia was on the monkey bars, he pushed her. She wasn’t crossing them fast enough, and he decided to solve it by shoving her off. She fell on her arm and wouldn’t stop crying. The monitor was there right away. We called William when we couldn’t get her to calm down.”

He has to take a few controlled breaths and remind himself it was a child. He couldn’t hurt a child even if the little bastard caused harm to his. There were lines that should never be crossed. He’s tempted, but he’s an adult. There are other ways to solve his problems like getting the kid expelled. He plans to do that as soon as everything with Mia is taken care of. There’s no way in hell, he’s going to let his kids go to school with a bully that has no issues pushing a little girl.

“Thank you, I’m probably going to keep her home tomorrow.”

Her face is sympathetic. He thinks that she’s pretty and if he were still Ollie Queen, he would’ve asked her out. Now, he’s a reformed playboy, and she’s the opposite of his type with long brown hair, perfectly applied make-up, and a willowy physique. “Yes, of course. I’ll see her Monday then. I have to get back to the rest of the class.” He nods. “Bye Mia,” she calls out.

His daughter manages a half way and a mumbled goodbye. It means something when she’s barely speaking. “Hi Pizzeria,” he greets, lifting her into his arms.

“Daddy,” her lips tremble, and she’s crying again. He holds her close and carries her in his arms to the car. William trails silently behind them, biting his lip. He was terrified he was in trouble when they first called him down, and then the moment he saw his sister, he was mad. He wanted to go track down Billy in the second grade and give him someone his own size to push.

Oliver buckles Mia into her booster seat. She’s still sniffling and silent tears track down her face. He brushes them away. “It’ll be okay baby girl. Daddy is going to make it all better. Okay?”

He’s never seen her this despondent. He hates it. He can’t do much except get her to the ER. “Okay.”

William takes over distracting his sister as they make their way to the hospital. She’s cranky and upset by the time they take her for an x-ray. Mia wants to go home and forget about the whole day. When they bring her back, she climbs into her daddy’s lap and buries her face in his chest. Oliver holds her and William offers his hand to comfort her. They wait until they come back, and it’s official she has a broken arm. Mia pouts the entire time they fit her arm for the cast.

“What color would you like sweetheart?”

Mia looks up at her dad and he shrugs. This is her choice after all. “What colors you got?” That’s his Mia. She likes to be apprised of her options before choosing.

“There’ green, blue, pink, white, pur-“

“Pink,” she shouts. “I want pink.”

Oliver chuckles and kisses his daughter’s head. Even when she’s miserable and whiny, she’s found a way to make him smile.

“We can do that.”

Oliver checks his phone to find a text from Tommy. They texted back and forth, while he waited for his daughter to be seen.

Oliver is going to stay home with his daughter tomorrow. She’s going to be crankier and in pain, and he would rather take care of her. He figures he can spoil her for a day with ice cream and princess movies. He wants to distract her and make her feel better.

Another half an hour passes before they can leave. Mia clings to him like a monkey as they leave, tightening her hold on him when he attempts to transfer her to Dig’s arms. “Come on baby, daddy has to go to the school. You’ll go with Uncle John, he’ll take you to QC where Grandma has your costume.” He hopes that it’ll be enough to convince her. She was excited last night about her costume. She loves Girl Wednesday. It makes his heart hurt in the best way possible.

“Yeah, he’s got to get the little bastard expelled.”

“William!”

“What?” He asks innocently. “That’s what you called him when you texted Uncle Tommy.” He hadn’t realized his son was reading over his shoulder. He should’ve expected it.

Oliver’s face burns as John gives him a knowing look. He can’t help it. The kid was a jerk and he was going to use his family’s influence to get him thrown out of school. Mia purses her lips, reminding him eerily of his mother, as she regards him. Her face falls, but she agrees. “Can I have ice cream when we get home?”

He smiles and nods. He gives her a big kiss. “You’re my brave girl. I promise when we get home you can eat all the ice cream. So can you spend a little bit of time with Uncle John, Will, and Sara, and daddy will be there as soon as I can?”

“Yes,” she says hesitantly. “But can I get a cupcake too?”

“Fine.” Maybe the sugar will help her crash.

She willingly moves into her uncle’s arms. “Did you see my picture with my cast? It was before daddy and Will signed it. Do you want to sign it?” She’s chattering away as they part ways for now. He knows the pain medication is keeping her mind off her arm for the most part, and he will have to give her another dose when they get home. She’s fine for the moment and that’s all he can really ask.

He spends a good hour arguing with the headmaster about removing Billy. He’s heard from a few parents at the school that this isn’t the first time he’s bullied other children. This is the first time that there was a serious injury, and Oliver wants it to be the last. The headmaster agrees to look into the situation more fully and evaluate whether or not Starling Prep is the right fit. Oliver won’t hesitate to get other parents involved, knowing he will bow to the pressure of the PTA and the board.

With that finally handled, he heads to his family’s company to enjoy trick-or-treating with his kids. He hasn’t made a final decision about going around their neighborhood later. William and Mia begged in the ER, but he’s seen Mia. There’s no way she will last that long given her day. Maybe he can convince his sister to do it before she goes to her party. He hates disappointing his children. William would likely put on a brave face and pretend it doesn’t bother him. Sometimes his kids take after him way too much.

He goes through security with ease and texts John to find out where his children are. He stumbles a bit when he finds out they’re in the IT department. He avoids the floor at all costs, which was why he was surprised the day his daughter decided to shoot Felicity. He was caught off guard. Mia saved the situation and he was able to wrangle her before she caused too much mayhem.

He follows the din of voices back to the small conference room. John nods over at his kids, and who should they be talking to but Felicity Smoak. He starts to make his way over when she collapses, and he quickens his pace. He’s not fast enough to stop her head from catching the edge of the table. That’s going to hurt later.

Her blue eyes flutter and his name leaves her lips.

“I’ve got you honey,” he promises her. "I won't leave you."

He glances up to find Mia and William's frightened faces. "John, call 9-1-1." He orders. He checks her pockets for an epi-pen, but comes up empty handed. They have to get her to the hospital. He decides the quickest way is if he drives. An ambulance would take too long. "I'm going to take her to the hospital." Her coworkers are useless and stand around frozen as he cradles her in his arms. He rushes to the elevators and realizes belatedly Mia and William have snuck into the elevator behind him. He doesn't have the time to take them back to John, so he supposes it'll be a family affair. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to include Felicity's part, but I've decided this needed to be an Oliver only chapter. 
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> I think my fav thing about comics and their adaptations is that you can literally do anything. They literally forego all the rules and make up their own.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity's night ends differently than they imagined.

From the moment he lifted her into his arms, the night was a whirlwind, a blur of passing moments, sounds fading away, sights barely registering as he completes his one mission, save Felicity Smoak.

Somehow and he’s really starting question the existence of fate for continuously pushing her into his life, she’s in the passenger seat of his Range Rover about to spend the night at his home after his inconsolable daughter invited her. Mia’s guilt over the situation was enough to melt his tough exterior and begrudgingly he agreed with his daughter that Ms. Smoak shouldn’t be left on her own with a concussion after the day’s events.

He thinks back on the last few hours and shakes his head in disbelief, unable to grasp that this is his life, that she’s there beside him. It doesn’t fit. Most people looked at him and their first thought was he was lucky, he was Oliver Queen, heir to Queen Consolidated, a multi-billion dollar corporation, he was handsome, smart, and could have anything he wanted at the snap of his fingers. When people spoke to him, it wasn’t to him but at him, seeming to ignore he was just another person like them. It was aggravating people considered him above them because his last name was Queen and that meant lots of zeroes in his bank account.

In his youth, such reverence made his head huge and stroked his ego as he was an obnoxious shit with no regard for anyone. He peed on cop cars, constantly in the tabloids for his misdeeds, and treated women as bed warmers. He wasn’t proud of any of it.

Things inevitably changed, he underwent a metamorphosis and once upon a time ago, a really long time ago by his estimation, he met an angel who radiated light, sunshine, positivity, and she was much too good to be real, he was sure it was a figment of his imagination. What girl would choose him in her right mind when they saw him, saw the broken pieces of a man who wasn’t worth it by any stretch, money opened doors, but it didn’t fix what was on the inside. On the inside, his sins weren’t washed away. He had numerous stains on his soul and he refused to burden hers again. She deserved far greater than he could provide.

Yet, here he was, somewhere else yet the same place, and she was a universal invariant. How the fuck did that keep happening? He blamed his daughter’s pout and those damn panda flats.

His mind drifts back to a few hours earlier when he rushed into the elevator with Felicity cradled in his embrace, her breathing sounding harsh to his ears, all color had vanished from her face, but there was strength. She wasn’t giving up without a fight and he wouldn’t either.

Oliver gently lays Felicity across the backseat of his SUV, tucking her hair behind her ear, checking her pulse, and putting his ear to her chest to listen to her breathing. He would perform CPR if necessary to preserve her life. He needs to save her.

Mia buckles herself into her booster seat, tears lining her face, and William doesn’t even attempt to make a case to sit in the front seat. They’re terrified, justifiably so given they’ve never been around anyone unconscious for medical reasons. 

He doesn’t bother following the rules of the road for the second time that day. His thoughts are racing and they’re all centered on the woman in his backseat. He’s worried they won’t make it to the hospital in time, and that she might die on his watch. That would be awfully poetic and maybe some karmic justice.

He tries to prevent himself from panicking because it’s not helping, but this is serious and life threatening. Felicity Smoak is potentially dying in his backseat and there isn’t a damn thing he can do except drive and pray that it isn’t her time. It can’t be. He refuses to let it. He makes a few calculated risks, but nothing too crazy. He’s got his kids in the car and he would never risk their lives or the woman’s in the backseat.

When he pulls in front of Starling Memorial, staff immediately converge upon the car and take immediate notice of the unconscious woman strewn across the backseat. “She’s gone into anaphylactic shock.” He informs them of the situation. “And she hit her head on a table when she collapsed.” They quickly transfer her to a gurney and rush her inside.

He longs to follow after them, but they tell him he has to move his car from the ambulance bay. His eyes track her prone form until she disappears into the confines of the hospital. His fists tighten on the steering wheel, but he complies with their orders. If moving his car will put him in her radius sooner than he will do it. Nothing will keep him from her any longer. He’s done.

As soon as the car is thrown in park, the family of three clamber out in a rush. Doors slam, and Oliver doesn’t scold his kids, he doesn’t have the heart. They’re worried and they sense his own. They cling to his hands as they make their way through the hospital. It worries him they’re silent. He’s never seen them react like this to anything, not even when their dog died over the summer.

He strolls up to the nurse’s station for information. The nurse barely glances at him. She’s finishing up some filing. “Can I help you?” He resists the urge to roll his eyes at her disinterested tone.

“Yes, I’m looking for Felicity Smoak. She was just brought in.”

The woman glances down at his frightened children and must come to some conclusion because she briefly checks the computer and then points. “She’s in six.”

The three of them move as one in their haste to check on the woman of the hour. Doctors and nurses surround her, and there’s an oxygen mask over her face. The rattling sound had freaked him out as he had never heard anything like that ever. Mia moves closer and buries her face in his leg. William isn’t much better off as he steps closer to his dad, needing the safety and protection he can offer.

“Is she okay?” He asks them. He has to know. He needs the assurance that she’ll live. “Please, someone tell me,” he fails to hide his desperation.

One of the doctors glances up at him. He sees past them where they’ve hooked her up to an IV and are injecting something into the line. “Sir, please wait outside. We are doing everything to treat your wife and someone will be with you soon.”

He’s too shocked to properly react and correct the man, nor is he bothered by the assumption. Is that what the nurse assumed when she saw him with his kids? It filled in the blank why she didn’t give him a harder time about his presence. From past experience, doctors and nurses rarely shared information with anyone who wasn’t married or listed as next of kin or an emergency contact. He does as they ask, knowing he’ll only be in the way otherwise, and he would rather give them the chance to do their jobs with interfering. He hates waiting, but he doesn’t want to endanger her life.

Tears stream down Mia’s face as the curtains flutter around them. “Is she gonna die? Did I kill her?”

“No, the doctors are helping her.” Oliver tries to reassure, but his daughter shakes her head emphatically as her face crumbles.

“But she couldn’t breathe.” She’s distressed and she doesn’t understand what’s happening. One minute Felicity was fine, talking and smile, and then she couldn’t breathe. Her face was white and she clutched her chest. She’s never seen anyone look like that, and she never wants to see it again.

Oliver kneels in front of his daughter, keeping his hand clasped around his son’s who has a stronghold. “You’re right. She was having a hard time breathing. It’s because she’s allergic to peanuts.” He frowns when he realizes Mia asked if she was the reason Felicity was there. Why would she ask something as ridiculous as that? “What do you mean did you kill her?”

“I gave her skittles, but I had a peanut butter samwich right before and you said she’s lergic to peanuts.”

 _Oh no_ , that was the last thing he was expecting. It wasn’t intentionally her fault, not that those sort of semantics matter to a four year old, but she did it unknowingly without intending to harm Felicity. “Look honey, you didn’t know. It was an accident and it can happen to anyone. You’re right that Felicity can’t have peanuts and when you gave her those skittles you touched with your peanut butter hands, well it wasn’t on purpose. Right?” Mia bursts into sobs and cries out something about being a killer, and she’s going to jail and she doesn’t want to go to jail. Oliver scoops her up into his arms and consoles her as best he can given the situation. He’s aware until she sees the woman herself, healthy and whole, Mia will refuse to see reason. 

He leads Mia and William over to the family area where there are a few dozen people. It is Halloween and there are a lot of idiots in Star City.

“It’s okay Mia,” William tells his sister, his tone soft. He understands she’s upset that she caused her new friend to go to the hospital, but it really wasn’t her fault. “You couldn’t have known. I’m sure Felicity will understand. She seems really nice and won’t be mad.”

Mia pulls back from her father’s chest. Her face is red, wet, and puffy as she stares at her brother. Her bottom lip wobbles uncertainly as if unsure her brother is telling the truth to not because sometimes he does lie. She sniffles and wipes her nose on her jacket. Oliver grimaces, but doesn’t say anything. His shirt is already covered in Mia goo and it’s par for the course given the day he’s had. “Really?” She’s tentative but hopeful.

William nods. “You said she’s like Girl Wednesday, and she’s a cool lady. So Felicity can only be cool too.” Oliver inhales sharply at the mention of his character. Had they made the connection? “You told me she wasn’t mad that you tried to shoot her with an arrow, and you did that on purpose.”

Oliver owes the woman for that fiasco, maybe a bottle of wine or two. She deserves it after his daughter’s attack, and for this unplanned hospital visit. “You’re brother is right. You didn’t kill her either. If the doctors are still working on her, that’s a good sign. They’re going to help her and make her better.”

The worry doesn’t leave her face. She’s hesitant to believe them until she can see Felicity with her own eyes and verify that she is in fact not a killer. The guilt settles uncomfortably in her stomach. If she hadn’t given her the skittles after eating her sandwich, they would be at QC, then they would go home. Felicity wouldn’t be hooked up to all of those scary machines and her breathing wouldn’t have been all raspy and scary sounds. No matter what her daddy says, this really is all of her fault. She snuggles back into her dad’s chest where she feels safest against the world. William leans his head on their dad’s arm, and brother and sister stare at each other. It’s something they’ve done since Mia can remember. It makes her feel at home and at the moment, it’s not an unwelcome feeling. She wishes they could go home, but she’s got to see Felicity. She has to say sorry. 

Nearly two hours pass before one of the doctor’s arrives with news on Felicity’s status. “We’ve opened her airways and given her medication to reduce the inflammation in her lungs and to reduce the response to the allergen. She does have a mild concussion, but overall she should be fine and we can discharge in a few hours. We want to keep her under observation a little longer to see how she responds to the meds, but otherwise she will make a full recovery.”

Oliver sighs in relief and he can feel his daughter sag against his chest, rest assured she’s not a murderer. She’s no longer tense and for that he’s thankful.

She picks her head up. “Can we see her?”

The doctor smiles. “Sure. Come on.”

* * *

Felicity drifts in and out of consciousness, so much so that she thinks she dreamt of him. The years weren’t unkind, but neither were they filled with the happiness she imagined when she agreed to a life with him and he accepted. Escaping the hero business was the goal, particularly after he settled his demons, he no longer had need of the Green Arrow, to channel his rage, his desperation for redemption to cleanse his soul of his many perceived sins. It was time for them to embrace their lives as Oliver and Felicity, married couple, equal partners, and parents.

Yet, and she really tried to suppress her anger as it wasn’t beneficial, but he left her. It wasn’t entirely his fault as he was called to service and he answered the call, but she was bitter. Why was it them who had to suffer? Iris and Barry, Kara and her many partners, John and Lyla, even Tommy had his time with Laurel, they all had a chance to relish in their happiness, to bask in the light of day without stressing about what would come and ruin their happiness. She was happy for them; they deserved it too, but when she glanced around at all of her friends, it was difficult to hide the stirrings of envy. Even Ray finally married Nora.

Her friends were smart and perceptive and knew to stray away from any conversations about her love life. She was content to raise her kids and build her company; she didn’t have room for anything else. Oliver was it for her, for life, for eternity, there was no one else. She knew that after her failed attempts at dating when she and Oliver did their best to live their lives without the other.

Her arrival in a place that was similar yet different at the same time threw her off. Everything was within her grasp, but it was like they were separated by bullet proof glass. She wasn’t in the same stratosphere as him, and there was no reason for them to spend time together when there were no villains to catch and when he worked in a different building across town.

The darkness she experienced was all consuming. There was nothing there to pull ber out of it. She wanted to sink into its’ familiarity. She didn’t have anything to fight for, all of it disappeared the moment he left her life, and it was ridiculous of her to trust a God-like being to bring her to him. Sara was clear about Oliver’s status. She should’ve stayed where she was and lived out the rest of her life.

For a moment, the fog lifted, there was pressure, tingles erupted over my body, and my awareness increased. Her hand reflexively squeezed and then she knew. It was startling given she had lived more years without him than with him, but he was there. His hand helps to guide her back, to find her way home out of the darkness.

“….wait in the hall.”

“Daddy… please- I want to….”

Her forehead crinkles in recognition, but she still can’t connect the voices to their owners. She knows them, but their names are just of reach.

There’s some grumbling, stomping, but whoever the other visitors are, they depart, albeit unwillingly at the behest of the deeper, sexier voice. Did she just think that?

“Felicity… told myself… didn’t deserve,” his words make little sense to her as they’re broken up. Shes not fully conscious, and she supposes her ears aren’t entirely cooperating. “-see you… and there’s much to tell you… and fuck fate.”

What the hell was he on about?

“-still deserve better…” Was he talking about her? She internally rolls her eyes because she was getting tired of that misguided line of thinking. “-choices, and you paid for them. I wouldn’t tell you any of this if you were conscious. It barely sounds coherent to me, and I experienced it. You would run for the hills, avoiding the crazy man.” Was he implying what she thought he was? “-stayed away… protect… love…”

His words come out too quickly for her to decipher them, which is mentally exhausting given her current state.

“-not really her… shouldn’t expect-“

“Daddy?” Her voice is the sweetest sound in the world. It’s melodic and innocent.

Felicity’s hand is cold and empty again in the absence of his touch, she feels bereft. His footsteps are light, nearly silent as he trails across the room to his daughter. She hears their whispers, but they’re too low for her to understand what they’re saying. Felicity sighs, neither father or daughters seems to hear her.

“Five more minutes.”

“Fine, but I’ll use the clock to count.”

Felicity has been aware from an early age she’s a veritable genius; she was the definition of a flower that blooms in adversity, given where she grew up, her home circumstances, and well everything else in her life. It wasn’t until Oliver looked at her, love shining his eyes, his face softening that she experienced for the first time what true beauty felt like. He didn’t see glasses, someone who babbles too much, wears panda flats, and is a geek. He saw her and liked the whole mosaic; there were no more Laurels, Helenas, Isabels ( _gag)_ , or any of those other women who went in and out of his life, just her.

After their first break up, he just gave up in a way on finding love, and it took her some time to realize she was the reason he chose not to move on with his life, despite having about as many options as someone like Idris Elba or any other high profile A-lister. Given all these facts, she’s inclined to believe there’s something happening behind the scenes with this Oliver. Aside from the day in the IT department and their brief interaction in the elevator, she hadn’t seen him since. So why was he worried about her, talking to her while she’s unaware, or he thinks she’s unaware of her surroundings?

She had questions. There was only way for her to get the answers she desired, however she is going to allow him to continue whatever his little diatribe is about in order to form a clearer picture of the situation. She didn’t want to jump to any conclusions.

She hears him clear his throat. “Where was I?” He murmurs silkily. She had missed his voice, forgotten over the years what it sounded like. It was rich and velvety, and wholly Oliver. “You wouldn’t be able to answer me anyway, you’re well… unconscious. Now I’m babbling.”

Felicity is still under the influence of strong medications, so she can’t properly react either and tell him that’s her line.

“My daughter, Mia,” he says, the affection evident in his voice as if she didn’t already know, but there’s something else in his tone, like a secret. “She thinks she killed you, so I hope you wake up soon if not for my sanity, then to ease her fears about going to jail. Apparently, she gave you some skittles she touched right after eating a peanut butter sandwich. Let me tell you, that was a terrifying experience and probably took ten years off my life. It was the last thing I expected after the day I’ve had.”

She doesn’t know if he’s referencing what happened at QC or Mia’s reaction to potentially causing her death. She didn’t blame the four year old. It was an accident.

“I’ve been an idiot about a lot of things, but I won’t be about this anymore.” She realizes she missed some significant details as she zoned out. What was he going to not be an idiot about? Damn him because she wanted to know what his deal was. She hated mysteries, and it seemed no matter where she was, he was a mystery. “My daughter wants to invite you home for the night since you apparently don’t have a boyfriend to watch over you.” Is that jealousy she detects? Why did her status as a single woman with prospects bother him? She needed more pieces to the Oliver Queen puzzles to solve this one. She thinks he might even sound hopeful, and there’s something disarming about a hopeful Oliver, which is how three hours later, she finds herself in the passenger seat of his Range Rover.

What had she gotten herself into this time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is doing well. What did you think?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are finally heading towards the really exciting stuff. 

Felicity is a genius. That is a veritable fact, but if there has ever been a time in her life when she was stumped by something or rather someone, it was now as she sits across from William and Mia as they munch on their dinner from Big Belly. Oliver stopped on their way back to his suburban residence to pick up dinner for all four of them without taking the time to ask her about what she likes. If anything his choice was more astounding and left her confounded. Her mental list of questions continued to grow.

The contents of her bag were her go to order. It was a deluxe with chili cheese fries and a double chocolate shake. She knows that prior to meeting a month ago, she and Oliver were never introduced. Any time spent in QC was on the executive floor or in the lobby. He never frequented any of the other floors until his daughter had a misadventure involving Felicity.

The memories of her two selves had begun to merge over the weeks, and she wasn’t really one or the other, but some combination of both women. It was confusing.

The different birth years affected some of her memories, but some aspects of her life were universal like her dad leaving when she was eight, or building her first computer from her dad’s parts at seven. She still graduated high school early and went on to attend MIT at 16. She did create a supervirus, but Cooper didn’t commit suicide. He was in prison for a life sentence. Part of her wants to study what accounts for all of the differences in every universe, how a life can be so similar but go in a very different direction.

Presently, the topic she desires to observe and figure out is the illustrious and elusive Queen scion.

Oliver Queen bugs her. He called her honey. She’s certain she didn’t imagine that when she fell earlier, or perhaps she did. The memory is a little murky, but she recalls his gentle, soothing voice and how his arms held her tight. She never had an imagination involving sensory details like that. He went on some weird tangent in her hospital room and she has fit a few of the pieces together. Well, the pieces that made sense to her. She only caught a few words here and there. Then there was the fact that he ordered for her perfectly without consultation. Her mom didn’t even know her order and the woman raised her. Yes, Oliver Queen was once again wrapped up in mystery and secrets, and unlike last time, she wasn’t going to avoid calling him on it.

The ride to his home lulled her to sleep, the steady sounds of the car on the road, the gentle snores of the children in the back, and the comforting presence of Oliver at her side make her feel content and safe, in a way she hasn’t been since she was dropped here. The day caught up to her from her early morning to her asshole boss to her hospital visit. Her energy wanes and she can’t help the yawn that escapes her. It doesn’t escape Oliver’s notice either. He won’t have her over extending herself given what happened a few hours ago, and the doctor did advise her to rest as much as possible. There is still another twenty minutes left in their drive, and he wants her to be comfortable.

“Go to sleep,” his voice washes over her. “Stop fighting it. I’ll wake you when we get ho-there.” He changes his words at the last minute.

Felicity has an idea of what almost slipped out. The idea of home isn’t her little town home on the edge of the Glades. It’s Oliver. She pinches her lips together to prevent herself from babbling something nonsensical to distract them from his implication. They’re playing a dangerous game to see who draws first, and it won’t be her, not this time. She doesn’t have enough data to prove that he is like her, and the thought of ruining whatever is happening is enough to suppress the urge. She takes his advice and her eyes flutter shut.

Oliver silently observes her out of the corner of his eye, while keeping his main focus on the empty, dark roads in front of him. This time of night is usually fairly dead with very minimal activity as they’ve missed rush hour by several hours. It gives him time to think and reflect, none of which was possible when Felicity babbled relentlessly or stared at him with that scrutinizing gaze of hers as if she’s attempting to discover all the secrets he hides.

Her hands are pressed together under her face as a barrier between her skin and the cold window. She piled her hair into a messy bun before they left the hospital and she’s tucked in on herself. He senses she’s unsettled, but the he’s unsure of the cause. There are a lot of reasons for her to feel that way.

When they’re a few streets away, he decides to wake her. He doesn’t want to overstep his bounds, but he doesn’t want to add to her overall confusion regarding the situation. He taps her thigh, ignoring the heat that creeps along his skin. She groans adorably and scrunches up her face further turning her body away from him as she tries to make herself more comfortable. He huffs, knowing this will be the real battle. Felicity likes sleep and coffee, and he doesn’t have the other to tempt her.

“Felicity, honey,” he says softly, stroking her hair, the silky strands glide through his fingers. Hopefully, it doesn’t fully register to her what he’s doing and she wakes up disoriented. He doesn’t need her questioning his strange behavior or why he’s taking a few liberties.

“Five m’re minutes.” She mumbles, her lips pouting.

The sight of her is nearly too much for him, but her reaction doesn’t deter him. “Come on, it’s time to wake up sleepyhead. We’re almost there. You can have your shake and food,” he cajoles her.

Oliver is playing dirty, but if it works, well that’s hardly his fault. She’s just easy, not that kind of easy, but she can be bribed with food. Food is her weakness and maybe tech. There’s also coffee.

Felicity blinks owlishly as she takes in her surroundings. The city lights can’t even be seen from the area and the houses are few and far between. If he wants to murder, it would be a perfect location. There’s no one around except for his kids and they’re asleep. Was this all a trap to lull her into a false sense of security?

“Hardly.” He snorts and her head snaps towards him. “I’m not going to murder you.” He doesn’t bother hiding his mirth and she glares balefully at him. “Seriously? My neighbors are nosy as hell and if I stopped for even a moment, one of them would be out of their houses asking me how they can help, especially those viper soccer moms.”

She narrows her eyes at the information of women coming after him and her gut painfully twists. The idea of anyone filling in the role of his wife but her makes her physically sick. She doesn’t think she could stomach it and she would hate to move if he found someone.

He sighs when he notices the crinkling of her forehead. It’s a sign. “I’m not interested in any of them. They’re a little too desperate for my liking and can be very judgmental. Apparently having two kids in the span of a few years means that I’m terrible with protection and they’re just hoping for the chance to… well you know.” He is uncomfortable with this line of discussion, not wanting to talk about the women who desperately throw themselves at him as if he doesn’t have standards.

A street light flashes across his face, and she can see his cheeks are red. There weren’t a lot of occasions for Oliver in her world to get embarrassed. It wasn’t his style. She did embarrass him sometimes when things slipped from her lips without a thought, but overall he was a fairly stoic man unless it was the two of them.

“Well you have listed yourself as Star City’s most ineligible bachelor.” She blurts out, wishing immediately she hadn't upon catching the mischievous glint in his eyes.

He tries to hide his smile, but he can’t help it. She's looked into him. It pleases him. “You’ve been on my Instagram?” He teases.

“Wh-what? No… of course no-I, why would I do that?” He laughs. She’s lying and doing a poor job of covering her tracks. She huffs and throws her arms up. “Oh come on, who hasn’t seen your Instagram? You’re Star City Royalty.” He shoots her look as he makes the final turn. “Fine, I look at your Insta. You didn’t strike me as someone technologically inclined.”

“Maybe I’m full of surprises.”

Is he flirting with her? She’s not prepared for that. She has no idea how to respond, and is saved when he starts to turn into a driveway.

”Also Thea, my sister is in charge of my account. I send her the pictures and she uploads for me. She came up with the bio and then Tommy latched onto it. They think it’s hilarious when women try to hit on me. There’s some irony,” he muses. 

“At least the mailbox isn’t in a different zip code,” she jokes. What is wrong with her? He’s thrown her off and she doesn’t know how to regain control of the moment. Her filter has abandoned her.

Oliver isn’t put off and laughs at her joke. “Ahh, you’ve heard about my infamous childhood home. Yes, I was looking for something normal and where I could easily grab my mail and the newspaper. William can take out the trash. My kids help with the yard.”

Post-island Oliver learned to live without money. She asked him once if he missed it, the lifestyle, the extravagance, the parties, everything. He looked her straight in the eye and said no. It was nice to earn the things he had in life instead of being given them.

“Is that why you moved out of your mom’s?”

His eyes cut to her as he turns off the engine. “That has more to do with her trying to parent behind my back. I love her. I really do, but her giving me parental advice is comical. It comes from a good place, but my teens are a cautionary tale about the dangers of covering up your kids’ messes and having more money than common sense.”

Felicity never met Ollie Queen, billionaire playboy who regularly partied with his best friend. “Yeah, I can’t imagine.” And really she can’t. She may have come into money later on, but money could never just be money to her the way it was to Oliver and people who grew up like him.

He clears his throat. “I should wake them up and then we’ll eat some dinner, and you can get settled.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

She can’t imagine what possessed her to take Oliver up on his offer to spend the night at his house. It was a house, there was no doubting that, which helped her to marginally relax in her new surroundings. No offense to Oliver and his sister but their childhood home was as far from a house as it got. It was practically a palace and it was impersonal with all of its’ rich, stuffy contents. All of the decor from the art to the sculptures were displays of wealth and status meant to be appreciated, but weren’t there to make the place feel homey.

Felicity’s eyes roam over Oliver’s ‘modest’ home, at least by the standards of his upbringing. It doesn’t resemble anything she’s seen within the Queen Manor, and there are little touches here and there that say children live there, a shoe left by the stairs, a jacket strewn across a bench, and a basket flooded with a bunch of toys from different sports balls to dolls.

Picture frames cover the walls. She tentatively took in the entry hall, surprised by the amount of warmth and love the home radiated. It was large and ornate, but nothing compared to the home Oliver left. He managed to make it into a home with furniture that while expensive wasn’t strictly for appearances.

She decides to get a closer look at the pictures cluttered on the walls. They capture the span of years’ worth of memories for the little family of three. Oliver documented his children’s lives, not missing a moment from the time they were babies. Her heart melts at all of the pictures documenting the family’s happiness.

There are a few of Mia and William openly showing their adoration for one another. Being closer in age has given them a playmate in each other, someone to grow older with as opposed to William leaving for college when Mia was five. They were close, but they still grew up in vastly different circumstances and Mia only knew her dad from stories. She was too little to form any memories of her own. There’s a little over a three year difference between them in this world as Mia’s 5th birthday is coming up soon and William’s was a few months ago.

Felicity smiles at the solo pictures of Mia and William, which capture their personalities. Mia is dressed up as Wendy Darling in one of them and it’s the sweetest, cutest thing she has ever seen. She had seen on Oliver’s Instagram pictures of their trip to Disney and in all of them, Mia wore a different costume every day. In her world, they didn’t venture much outside of Star City, but it pleases her to know they’ve got these experiences in this one with their dad.

In another photo, William is on his father’s shoulders staring up at Cinderella’s Castle. She’s never been to a Disney park in her life and feels a little envious and left out. It’s stupid since it was before she was aware of her connection to the, but the feeling is there all the same. Her mom didn’t have the money or time to take her when she was growing up and by the time she did have the money on her own, she didn’t have the time. It makes her sad to think of the experiences she’s missed out on over the years.

Her eyes move onto the next photo of Mia dressed as a ballerina. From Oliver’s Insta, she gathered enough data to extrapolate that Mia was a dancer, or at the very least she took ballet classes. She never had the grace or coordination for the activity. After two classes when she was five, Felicity told her mom she would rather not.

There are baseball pictures of William. Oliver and William never had the time to do proper father and son bonding activities like playing baseball. They struggled to find common ground for the longest time, and Oliver pretended he wasn't bothered that she and William had an easier go at things. It warms her insides to witness how different everything really is. Mia really is his little princess and there's no pun intended. He dotes on his children and she suspects he's almost compensating, for what she's unsure. Luckily, they're normal, happy children whose dad loves them something fierce. She's certain some of the more posed shots that look done by a professional are courtesy of his mother and sister. He hates posing and pomp and circumstance, the exact opposite of Moira and Thea. 

“You know we don’t bite,” a voice says over her shoulder.

She jumps at his nearness and not because his voice does funny things to her insides. “I wasn’t snooping. I was just looking at all of your pictures.” She mentally smacks herself.

His lips tick up in a smile. “It’s fine,” he waves off her concerns. “You’re allowed to look. That’s the purpose of photos. We don’t have a lot of new visitors and most people hardly notice when we add to the wall anyway.”

Felicity glances up at his eyes, and she sees the sincerity. He doesn’t mind her snooping and it helps to calm her racing heart. “Where’s this one?” She points to the photo of four people sitting on what appears to possibly be a mountain. After Nando Parbet, she stayed away from any and all mountains. She ignores the fourth person in the frame, afraid it’s a past girlfriend or something of that nature. She’s not jealous. Really, she isn’t? Why should she be?

“Oh, that’s at the top of Mount Haleakala.”

“What? Where is that?”

He chuckles. “It’s a mountain or really a volcano on Maui. It’s name translates to House of the Rising Sun, which is what we were doing there. We wanted to see the sun rise. That’s my sister, Thea, there next to Mia. My mom and stepfather were out of frame and took the picture of the four of us.” She shouldn’t feel as relieved as she does to hear it was only Thea. It petrifies her to think of Oliver with anyone who isn’t her, and it’s not as if he’s hers anyway. She shouldn’t feel possessive of him, but she does.

“Sounds lovely. I’ve never been to Hawaii.” When they took their trip, they focused more on international destinations than domestic ones. She wanted to see the world, having never really been anywhere in her life, and she would hardly count her time in Tibet as a vacation.

“Maybe you’ll get the chance one day,” he finds himself telling her. “Mia and William conked out on the trip back down, but they did say it was amazing to see the world like that. William couldn’t stop talking and Mia, her eyes were so wide when the sun began to peak over the mountain.”

“You really love your children.” She notes out loud. It’s amazing watching this side of him, one she has very little prior experience with.

“Thank you.” He doesn’t need to ask why she sounds wistful. “Come on, your shake will melt and then I’ll somehow get blamed.” He bumps her shoulder in jest. He doesn’t want to linger too long. “Eat. It’ll help you feel better and also if Mia and William are left too long, they start fighting.”

Felicity realizes with a start that Mia and William weren’t with them.

As soon as Mia and William entered the house, they dropped their backpacks by the door and kicked off their shoes, ignoring their dad’s protests and their jackets were shrugged off as they headed to the kitchen. Oliver grumbled a little, but shook his head with a fond smile and followed after them.

“Are you going to pick them up?” She gestures towards their jackets. She can’t imagine the control freak that Oliver is being okay with his kids leaving a mess.

“I’ll have them hang it up after dinner. It’s been a really long night and I think I can let it go for the moment.”

In the kitchen, Mia and William are seated at the island. Their burgers are gone and they’re just picking at their fries now. Oliver heads towards Mia and gives her something, which she takes immediately.

She shuffles forward, her stomach grumbling as the smell of the food wafts to her. She’s starving and she realizes she skipped lunch to go to the bookstore. She hasn’t eaten since breakfast. She takes her seat and feels their eyes on her.

“Stop staring at her,” Oliver chastises them as he gets a water from the fridge.

Her eyes move towards the fridge where she sees drawings and a math test with a big, red A. There’s a calendar listing the family’s schedule for the next month.

“Can Fe-li-ci-ty sleep in my room? It could be a slumber party.”

Oliver immediately shoots down the request. “You talk too much and the medicine I gave you is going to make you sleepy soon anyway. It’s better if Felicity has her own space to rest.”

Mia pouts and juts out her chin as her arms cross her chest. The effect is ruined as she has a cast, but does her best to stare her dad down. Oliver isn’t easily intimated by his daughter. He’s wise to her tricks at this point and tonight he isn’t budging. Mia sighs and takes another sip of her milkshake.

Felicity stays silent, wanting to stay out of their who can be more stubborn match. She always wondered who would win.

Mia yawns and William follows suit. Felicity glances at the clock on the stove, and realizes why they’re so tired. It’s well after ten and they had gone to the hospital twice in a single day. Oliver polishes off the rest of his burger and scoops Mia into his arms. She snuggles into his arms, nuzzling his chin, a content sigh leaving her rosebud lips. “Are you done?”

She blinks and realizes he’s addressing her now. William snorts into his milkshake. He likes her. She’s funny and strangely reminds him of his sister.

Felicity glances down. There are still some fries and she has her milkshake left. “Uh almost?” She doesn’t know why it came out like a question.

William clears his throat to gain his dad’s attention. “I’ll stay here with her daddy. I can show her to the guest room when she’s done.”

Oliver internally debates on what to do. William looks up at him earnestly, just wanting to be helpful. He nods. “Okay, but then right after you need to brush your teeth and get into bed buddy. I’ll stop by to tuck you in.” He kisses his son’s hair and head’s up the stairs with a snoring Mia in his arms. The little girl’s arms dangle down her father’s back.

“You didn’t have to volunteer like that.”

William smiles shyly at her. “It’s okay. I wanted to talk to you. Mia says you’re super smart.”

She’s never been modest about her brain and she won’t start now. “Yeah I am,” she confirms, flushing hotly.

He nods his head and something in his eyes shift. “D-do you think you could maybe help me with my science fair project? My dad is smart, but well science isn’t really his thing.”

Felicity’s mind drifts back to an older William, who needed help with his math, whose dad wasn’t capable but wanted him to succeed. “Will your dad be okay with that?” She doesn’t want to step on any toes.

William shrugs. “He won’t care. I usually have someone tutor me for science and math to give me a little more of a challenge. I think he won’t mind at all if you spend extra time here.” There’s something in his tone he’s trying to convey to her. Are William and Mia setting her up with their dad? She’s confused and tired, and the day has been way too long for her to properly process what is happening.

Instead of going the same way as Oliver and Mia, after helping her discard of the trash, William leads her up a back staircase. She catches a glimpse of Mia’s princess bedroom as they pass. She shakes her head knowingly. The Queens never did anything on a small scale.

William takes ahold of her hand and leads her further down the hall and pushes open the door. He flicks on the light and she’s briefly assaulted by bright lights. “Oops, sorry,” he mumbles apologetically.

The room is minimally decorated, and suspects Thea is responsible. Oliver isn’t one for details like plants and rugs. “Is this okay?” Will asks her. He twiddles his thumbs nervously.

She smooths a hand over his hair. “This is fine. Thank you for being an amazing tour guide.”

He beams at her and she spots a missing tooth on his bottom row. It surprises her. Neither her nor Oliver knew him at this age. They never played tooth fairy for him or had the opportunity to be Santa.

“Good night. I gotta get ready before my dad comes to find me.” He throws his arms around her waist and she’s briefly thrown off balance. What were with these Queens? Her arms wrap around him. She enjoys the innocence and trust of his hug.

“Night kiddo and thanks again.”

He flashes her another smile and then vanishes out the door.

She turns to take in the room. It is very lovely with dark green walls. The color scheme is neutral with a single accent pillow. It’s nicer than many of the hotels she’s stayed in and the bed looks awfully comfortable.

Oliver watches her from the doorway. He takes in the sight of Felicity mesmerized by his guest room. He decides to interrupt with a gentle knock on the door. She swirls around and she’s breathless at him standing there. He had changed into sweatpants and form fitting t-shirt. Apparently, he is very fit.

He coughs and hides his smile.

“I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“I find it charming. it’s adorable.”

She groans and covers her face. This couldn’t get any worse. The man was giving her whiplash. “I brought you some things. I don’t have undergarments, but I brought you a pair of sweats and a shirt. There’s also some towels in the guest bathroom next door. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. My door is across the hall.”

“Why are you doing all of this? I’m really nothing more than a stranger to you and you’re being nicer than literally like all the guys I’ve dated. I’m just super confused about what’s happening. You don’t have to feel guilty about the skittles incident. It really was an accident. I could’ve gone home. I would’ve gotten off okay on my own… oh Google- forget I said that, but I would’ve been fine on my own. You didn’t have to do this for some strange woman.”

She swears she hears him mutter intelligibly about glue and best parts, but none of it is fully clicking in her brain that has turned to mush. In the morning, she will fully take the time to analyze whatever is happening with them, but she wants to sleep. She needs sleep.

“Let’s just say I made a promise once and this is my way of upholding it. Good night Felicity, sweet dreams,” he hesitates for a moment, wanting to give her a hug, and then decides to go for it.

He steps closer and then she’s in his arms. He holds her there, inhales her flowery shampoo, and thinks about how he never wants to let her go. She presses her face into his chest and sighs much like Mia had earlier. There was nothing that beat the comfort of his embrace, especially after a hellish day. She still fits perfectly. She inhales his expensive cologne and his natural musk, something that’s purely Oliver. She doesn’t want to release him, but knows that it would only prolong the inevitable.

She pulls back sheepishly. He scratches the back of his neck and they stare awkwardly at one another. “Night Oliver.”

“Good night again, Fe-li-ci-ty.” His voice comes out breathier than intended, but he smirks when he sees her knees tremble. Two could play this game. He wasn’t the only one with secrets apparently. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mount Haleakala is a real place in Maui. The sunrise is definitely something to see if you ever find yourself there. It’s incredible but also wear layers because it’s cold. It’s the best sunrise I’ve ever seen.
> 
> Let me know what you thought


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post yesterday, but I only had a 1000 words and it felt insufficient to post. So I woke up today and finally got my thoughts on the page.

The morning light shines across her face and she doesn’t fight the return to the land of the living. Felicity yawns, stretching out her body as far as she can, working out any kinks. She sighs content for the moment until her eyes flutter open. She blinks in confusion, slightly disoriented until her memories from the previous night come flooding back to her. She’s in Oliver Queen’s home. He invited her, well really Mia did, but it was semantics. She’s actually in his domain and she’s talked to him. 

She’s close to unraveling the mystery of him. The fog from sleeping hasn’t entirely lifted from her brain yet, so she still only has fragments she’s trying to fit together.

First on the list, he wrote an entire graphic novel series depicting the life of _Green Arrow_ , specifically the version of him on Earth Prime. She had the chance to skim through the first one during a break yesterday, and her heart quickened when she reached the first encounter of Meghan and Beck. The dialogue was exactly what Oliver had said to her when they first met.

Honestly, she felt embarrassed for him if he thought he had done a convincing job of lying to her. It was eerie to view herself from his eyes. He always told her he thought she was beautiful, but it was difficult to take him seriously when she recalled all of the women from his past, some of them were supermodels. She was a geeky IT girl who had a massive school girl crush on her boss.

The drawing while not incredibly detailed as it was a graphic novel made her appear beautiful. Meghan practically glowed. There was this light she radiated that Oliver used to say she had. He told her she was his light. Her eyes were incredibly blue, but sometimes bordered on that grey/blue color.

Oliver told her, he felt something for her then, but it wasn’t until she helped him after his mom shot him that he began to fall in love with her. He ignored the way his brain whispered for him to kiss her or his heart fluttered in her presence because he was unwilling to put her in danger, much like his protagonist. It was aggravating and they wasted the first three years after being acquainted.

Oliver was multi-talented. She was aware of his drawing abilities, but she honestly hadn’t realized how good he really was. The details were extraordinary. Also, the use of Fyre was a bit too on the nose if you asked her. He probably shouldn’t have used Meghan either. Then again, he wasn’t expecting her to drop in on his life. There was also the fact that his other partner’s name was Jon. 

There was his use of the endearment ‘honey’. Normally, she hated pet names. In all of her relationships before him, she strayed away from stuff like that, but coming out of his mouth, it was different. She reciprocated it. He had called her honey last night more than once, and she knew it wasn’t something he just said. He told her himself that he was the same way about pet names until her. It made a girl feel flattered, but also confused as hell in her current situation.

The Big Belly Burger order was what helped convince her that maybe she wasn’t the only who slipped into another universe. Albeit this was different than Earth-2 Laurel or Earth-X people popping up in their world. She was physically inhabiting another body with both sets of memories in her mind. He knew about her peanut allergy when she rarely shared the information with anyone. He was quick to respond and get her to the hospital.

Lastly, when she asked him about why he was helping her. His muttered response, which she was certain wasn’t meant for her ears finally clicked with her upon waking. Hadn’t she once told him they were like glue? She is surprised he remembered that, but then again he noticed more than she thought he did. He’s attentive. And his mention of best parts, well it’s not exactly a day she enjoys thinking about given her mindset at the time, but during his fake vows at their fake wedding, he told her she was the best part of him. She didn’t want to hear or believe it at the time as their personal relationship was in shambles. She hadn’t forgotten the words. They stuck with her. He didn’t want to break up with her, but at the time, it was for the best.

So the question was how did Oliver come to be here? How long had he been here? Was he expecting her? She shakes her head because obviously he wasn’t. The way he treats her isn’t the way he treated her when they were married. It reminds her of the early days of OTA. They were friendly and he was protective of her, however he didn’t want to push the boundary. He casually touched her in a way that bordered on intimacy, but also viewed as friendly. Their lack of personal space was likely why people were convinced they were sleeping together.   
  


Her mind moves back to her current Oliver problem. The past is all well and good, but she needs to prioritise the present.

Had he stayed away in fear of temptation? She has to admit she doesn’t think she could be as strong as him if the roles were reversed, then again she had spent the better part of the last month stalking him, so she’s perhaps not qualified to speak on the subject. Oliver has always had a stronger will than her. He was the one who kept his distance and allowed her to get involved with Ray. Also until a month ago, she was only the other Felicity, and hadn’t she overheard the words ‘not her’. Everything quickly falls into place in her head.

“Please!” Felicity hears from outside. “My arm doesn’t even hurt that bad. I can do it.”

She throws back the covers and crawls out of the bed. She tightens the sweat pants Oliver gave her last night, but at least there’s a drawstring. Then she makes her way towards the window where she spots two solitary figures in the massive backyard having a disagreement.

She should’ve figured with everything she knows about Oliver that he valued his space and privacy, and there’s no doubting it when she views the size of the yard. She catches a peak of a treehouse through a thick of trees. From what she saw on Instagram, he, Tommy, and John spent a month building it for Mia and William. She wishes she had witnessed that. She’s always appreciated sweaty men, but in particular she wishes she could’ve ogled her sweaty man at work.

“I don’t know Mia,” Oliver tells his daughter. Her eyes drift back two the father/daughter duo. She spots the bow in his hands and then her eyes shift a little to see a target a good distance away. There’s another target much closer, which she supposes is Mia’s. “You have a broken arm and while it’s not the one you use to draw back back, you use it to balance your bow and aim.”

She can’t make out Mia’s expression, however she can fill in the blanks. Mia is likely pouting that her father refuses to give in to her charms and is remaining firm in his resolution. Her thoughts are confirmed when the little girl crosses her arms angrily and turns her back on her dad. “That’s not fair. I can’t do nothin’.”

“Are dad and Mia out there?” She startles from her place at the window, and turns to find William leaning against the doorway. He’s in his pajamas and his hair is untamed.

She nods absentmindedly as her attention moves back to the argument brewing outside. “That’s their thing, archery. I suck at it.” He tells her as he sidles up next to her, his eyes peering through the blinds to watch his dad and sister duke it out. “Mia loves Green Arrow and got her first bow when she was two. It was just a toy, but she loved that thing. She and dad started practicing a little more when she turned four.”

Felicity observes him as he watches his family. “Do you wish you were out there?” She sometimes had the impression with the William she raised that he felt left out. He had met his younger sister as an adult and while excited to meet that version of her, he was jealous that their dad trained Mia. Mia has more in common with their dad and it bothered him. 

Will shrugs. “Nah, dad and I play catch together. He coaches my little league team. Last year he almost got into a fight with the umpire over a bad call.”

“That’s like a ref, right?”

He shoots her an ‘are you serious’ look. She feels ten inches tall under his gaze, but sports were never her things. She’s attempted a few times to grasp them; it just never clicked, which never failed to amuse Oliver and John. It was an area where she had no knowledge.

William rolls his eyes and nods at her. “Yeah, something like that. They make calls like strikes, balls, and runs. There’s more to it than that, but you don’t seem to know much about sports. Do you?” His eyes look over her as if he knows she’s not the least bit athletic.

What a smartass! He is definitely Oliver’s child. “I know some things.”

Will snorts. He actually snorted at her. “Yeah okay, no offense or anything since we just met yesterday, but you really don’t look like the type who knows much about athletics. Do you even know what our local teams are called or where they play?”

She purses her lips as he chortles. “That’s what I thought. But hey, Mia says your good at computers and that you’re smart. She says your boss is a jerk too. She wants to kick him.” He smirks at her, and the resemblance between him and his father is uncanny. There’s no denying the relation between father and son. “I would watch out for her. Her kicks hurt.” He rubs his shin feeling phantom pain.

Felicity smiles as she recalls how Mia popped from out of nowhere and told her she disliked her boss. Felicity can’t disagree with the general assessment. “He is kind of a jerk, but he’s my boss. I can’t really do much against him.”

“Just watch out for Mia because she’s decided you’re her new best friend, and if she feels anyone is being mean to you, well let’s just say she tried to beat up a fourth grader for me once. She bit and kicked him. He switched schools.”

“Must get that from her father,” she mumbles under her breath. Felicity has her own methods for going after people who deserve it like tanking their credit. She’s never had the physicality to really pursue her enemies; she left the brawn to Oliver and the rest of the team. She was content to watch and use her brain to solve her problems. 

William seems to have excellent hearing as he bobs his head. “Yeah, you’re right.” He agrees. “Dad and Mr. Bowen who is a douche, they got into a fight when Mr. Bowen called us bastards. Dad knocked him out and now Mr. Bowen doesn’t even look at us.”

If he’s referencing Carter Bowen, she doesn’t blame Oliver for punching the pompous prick. He was the embodiment of the entitled elite and she wishes she had never had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting the man. Before she has the chance to say anything, her stomach grumbles, derailing her entire thought process.

Will grins at her. “Hungry?”

“Starving. How do we get back to the kitchen?”

He grabs her hands and she feels joy spread through her. They like her. Her heart constricts painfully upon the realization that Mia and Will want to spend time with her. “Come on, it’s not that big. Grandma’s house is huge like a castle. Our house is pretty normal sized.”

She scoffs at the notion, unsurprised by his statement. He’s a Queen growing up in privilege and their idea of normal was a stark contrast to everyone else’s. Has he seen the size of his yard? 

“There’s only four bedrooms. Grandma has like ten and there’s more rooms than that.” He interprets her scoff correctly and she’s got to give him points for that. “Dad makes us do chores and grandma never made him do that. Auntie Thea doesn’t even have chores.”

“I had chores growing up.” She interjects. It was only her and her mom, so they divvied up the household tasks. 

“I hate chores. I’ve got to take out the trash and dad makes me clear the table. And spring is the worst. Mia and I have to pull weeds and we don’t even get an allowance. Grandma has gardeners and grounds people to do that for her, but dad says we don’t live on that much land and it’s something we can do on our own.”

At least, he’s consistent. He makes both of his kids do chores, and isn’t sending them mixed messages by having someone go in after them. “Don’t you have school?” She frowns when she realizes it’s Friday and not Saturday.

“Dad called me out. We were out late last night and dad said I could stay home. He also called QC for you when we were at the hospital.”

She’s touched by the gesture. She doesn’t have the energy to get through the work day and deal with her boss after the night she had. Belatedly, she does realize she’s at the mercy of Oliver as she doesn’t have her car, which is conveniently in the QC garage. A cab or über was way out of her price range as they were at least thirty minutes outside of the city.

She follows the eight year old down a different staircase than the one they travelled up the previous night, and she thinks he’s intentionally messing with her sense of direction after the comments she made about the size of the house.

He leads her back to the spotless kitchen. Felicity easily pictures Oliver at the stove in his native habitat. He excelled at all things cooking and she loved watching him do it.

“Can you make eggs?” He asks her.

She can try. She still can’t fathom how a basic skill like scrambling eggs eludes her. The children on Masterchef and Chopped Junior managed to cook without being a disaster in the kitchen, yet she a grown adult fails. There’s no harm in attempting it for the ten thousandth time. Maybe she will get lucky this time.

“Sure.” She tells him. She managed a few times to make halfway decent eggs, at least Mia never commented and Will was too polite to say anything. Mia wasn’t a whiz in the kitchen and it helped they lived in the manor where there was a staff to meet all of their needs. “How hard can it be,” she mutters as she gets the eggs out of the fridge. She rolls her eyes when she catches sight of all the fruits and veggies inside. There’s juice, but it’s the sugar free kind. They only have soy or low fat cheese, so she choose low fat.

“The soy is for Mia anyway. She’s lactose intolerant. It’s why we have oat milk.” That explains a few things. “Dad’s really healthy. We don’t eat out a lot.”

She remembers very fondly how conscientious Oliver was about what he put inside of his body. She groans when she recalls how she told him she noticed. That crush of hers was obvious and she knows Oliver really isn’t that dumb. He was being kind to ignore all of her little slips and innuendos.

“So you play baseball?” She asks him. She’s curious about William. She didn’t meet him until he was eleven and he was going through an adjustment with all of the vast changes in his life from the death of his mother, his living situation, and the introduction of a stepmother into his life. She wants to know what he’s like and how having his dad in his life has influenced him.

He nods as he pours himself a glass of juice. “Yeah since I was four. Dad put me in T-ball. t was a way for us to bond. I was kind of jealous of Mia.” It wasn’t uncommon of older siblings when a new baby arrived. “Everyone wanted to look at her and play with her, and dad noticed I was feeling left out.”

She hides her surprise at this particular revelation. Sometimes Oliver was as obtuse as they came about feelings. Five years gallivanting across the globe, stuck on an island, and working for the Russian mob caused stunted emotional development. She had to admit from what she knew of Oliver before the island, he had improved in spades upon his return. Ollie Queen had no regard for much of anything.

“That’s great that your dad found something for you guys to do together.” She means it. Watching William and Oliver struggle to bond was painful. She blames Samantha for part of it, but some of it was that they were different people with little overlap in their shared interests. “My dad and I tinkered with computers. It’s how I developed my love for them.” Whatever other feelings she possesses for the man who abandoned her, she is thankful he introduced her to her love of computers, which led to most of the best things in her life.

“Computes are cool. We’re learning how to code at school. It’s fun. Dad is okay with computers, but he can really only do the basics.”

“Eh some people just aren’t that good.” Like her at cooking, and how she’s already managed to screw up the eggs. The eggs are simultaneously burnt and runny, and she doesn’t understand how she managed to achieve that feat.

The backdoor opens as she removes the pan off the stove. “Oh no!” Oliver rushes across the kitchen at a dizzying speed. Is he the Flash now? “You cooked?” His nose wrinkles as he catches a glimpse at the inside of the pan. “Um maybe I should uh do the cooking? Pancakes? Or waffles?” He asks Mia and William as he takes the pan from her and dumps the contents in the trash. He sets the pain in the sink with a shake of his head. How someone can screw up eggs is beyond him. He should’ve known better.

“Waffles!!!” The kids cheer happily as Oliver digs out the ingredients and brings down the waffle iron.

Oliver grabs a few bowls and gestures for them all to sit at the island, while he starts prepping his ingredients. Felicity has missed this side of him. Saturday brunch was their thing even after William moved in with his grandparents.

“Felicity?”

“Yeah?”

“You failed those eggs.” At least they're consistent on their parts. 

“Really?” 

She cracks a smile as he starts separating the whites from the yolk. He is skilled and confident in the kitchen, something she knows she can’t ever be. However, if he’s attempting to hide he’s from another universe like her, he is doing a terrible job at convincing her with lines like that. Or maybe that was the point. He wants to confuse her, not that it makes sense to her. Nothing in his brain ever made much sense to her. He had too many idiotic ideas for her to comprehend and sometimes his logic was seriously warped.

“Can I beat the egg whites?” Mia asks her dad. “Will did it last time. And I’m your sous chef.”

Oliver glances at his daughter’s cast. His gaze is contemplative as he considers her question. Ordinarily, in this situation he would ask Will to help his sister by holding the bowl as she beats the eggs, but she really only has the use of one of her hands currently. “I don-“

“I’ll help her,” Felicity offers. “I think between the two of us we can beat them.”

Oliver’s flicker over to her in shock. “Um okay then,” he slides the bowl over to them.

“Ready Mia?” She asks the girl. Mia sticks out her tongue in concentration and nods.

William laughs at his sister. She takes her kitchen duties far too seriously, but as long as he doesn’t have to do it, he doesn’t mind much. He just wants to eat already and if this gets the job done faster then he could care less.

Ten minutes later, the first waffle comes off the iron. The first is always his sister’s. She is younger and she does help their dad. “Second is the best anyway,” he teases her as she sticks her tongue out at him. She scoops a bunch of strawberries onto her waffles and dumps powdered sugar everywhere. “Nice Mia.” He flicks her head.

“Hey!” She scowls as she throws a strawberry at him.

Oliver rolls his eyes at their antics. He has grown accustomed to their sibling antics over the years, but he didn’t realize they would behave like animals in front of a guest. “Knock it off you two, we have a guest.”

“Why? It’s Felicity. I shot an arrow at her. I think she knows I’m not always good.”

Mia makes a valid point, Felicity thinks. “You were getting justice,” her lips twitch as Mia giggles.

“She was being a menace.” Oliver corrects, although his mouth ticks up at the corners, giving Felicity the impression that he found the situation comical too. He was stern at the time and Mia supposedly was punished, but it doesn’t make it less humorous.

“How did she get down to IT anyway?”

“I waited for daddy to go potty. I ‘membered to bring my bow that day ‘cause you made the gross dessert, and daddy says you gots to stand up for injustice.”

Oliver passes the stack of waffles. “I said you should stand up in the face of injustice.”

“Poh-tato, puh-tato.”

Felicity openly laughs at the girl’s blatant dismissal of her father’s words. If Oliver ever wondered how frustrating he was, Mia was evidence. They were practically the same person and that definitely begged the question regarding nature v. nurture.

“Oh eat your breakfast smartass.”

“Daddy that’s five dollars in the jar.”

“Yeah, I know. I put a twenty in two days ago.”

“But you said four naughty words yesterday.”

“Which four times five is twenty dad. So you need to pay up since you used up your bad words for that twenty.”

Oliver grumbles under his breath about con artists and misers. “I’ll put the money in later.” He says as he finishes up with the last of the batter. “Don’t forget if you say a bad word you owe me money.”

Mia winks or tries to wink at Felicity. She receives the hint loud and clear. She thinks the entire thing is amusing anyway as Oliver is terrible at monitoring his swearing. “How much have they made off of you?”

“Five hundred this year, which is down from the seven hundred we got last year,” William pipes up from his mouthful of waffles. “Last year he did build Mia’s bed and there were a lot of naughty words said. He got so mad and his face was all red. Uncle Tommy posted a video because he couldn’t stop laughing.”

She giggles at the image her mind conjures up. “You were bested by a child’s bed?”

“The instructions were unclear.”

“They were in English.“ William exclaims. “You skipped a step and messed it up yourself.”

“Hush, I feed you.”

“Grandma would never let you starve us. She says she never sent you to bed hungry even when you broke her favorite vase skateboarding in the house.”

Felicity quirks a brow at him. “Do tell about this skateboarding incident? Don’t most kids just throw a baseball in the house?”

“I wasn’t most kids.” Right because most kids weren’t billionaires. “To make the story short, my mom told me to stop skateboarding in the house. Well she went on a business trip with my dad and-“

“And you decided if she couldn’t catch you in the act then it was like it never happened, except you broke a vase.”

“I broke a vase. I didn’t have a good explanation and she tripped me up. She used her mom powers on me, and I told on myself. The story became more and more elaborate involving ninjas and a freak thunderstorm with heavy winds.”

It baffles her how very few people figured out he was Star City’s resident vigilante. He was a natural storyteller though with his constant fabrications, which is likely the reason his novels were successful, but the man couldn't lie for shit. It was no wonder so many people close to him discovered the truth.

“So you like archery?”

His eyes spark alive and for a second she thinks he looks proud of her, which is weird.

“Maybe. I always liked Robin Hood. What about you?”

“I don’t know. Green is a little overrated and the whole stealing from the rich is a bit much, don’t you think?” She challenges him.

His smirk grows wider as he sits back. “I don’t know. Robin Hood had good reasons.”

“Like Green Arrow?”

His cheek twitches, and she’s finally cornered him. “Well he was trapped for five years and his city was overrun with corrupt people.” He says casually; his eyes sparkle with mirth. He enjoys riling her up, and he wants to see how far he can take this.

“Wouldn’t you think that’s dangerous? Should private citizens involve themselves in matters best left for the police?” She plays Devil’s advocate, wanting to hear his response. She’s pushing him to see how he’ll react and as she watches his expression, there’s a hint of annoyance where there was arrogance a few seconds ago. _Hah!_

He folds his arms across his chest. “It isn’t as if he was the only one involved. He clearly managed to convince Jon and Meghan to join his team and aren’t their activities just as illegal as his? They’re accomplices.”

Her eyes narrow to slits. “That hardly seems a fair comparison. Meghan runs tech support. She's not out there arrowing people.”

“She hacks government databases, city cams, and personal files. I would say that is more than the average tech support does, wouldn’t you?” He knows it's not the same as what Green Arrow did and the comparison is hardly fair, however the way she's practically breathing fire, makes him smile. 

Smug bastard, she wants to say it, but there are children present and she doesn't have any cash at the moment. He thinks he’s so fucking smart, but she’s a hundred times smarter than him. She refuses to give him the win. “Hacking is such a dirty word. She just goes through some backdoo-“

He openly scoffs at her. She can’t seriously believe that? “Felicity,” he levels with her. “Hacking is a crime. Perhaps not the same as what Green Arrow was doing, but it still has a hefty jail time attached to it. I mean she hacked into a global corporation.”

Mia and William watch with rapt attention, having never witnessed their dad like this with anyone. Mia is positive her daddy likes Felicity now that she’s seen them together. He never smiles at other women like that, and Felicity is her friend. His Aunt Thea told him that boys had strange ways to express their feelings for girls and that sometimes it came across as mean like hair pulling. William didn’t understand then what she meant, but he thinks he does after watching his dad and Felicity argue over fictional characters as if they were real.

"For the greater good." She almost yells at him but refrains. She doesn't want to frighten Mia and William with her loud voice. “You’re frustrating. Why won’t you concede?”

“Why won’t you? I made the superior argument. And this is hardly Harry Potter.” He adds and she pauses for a second. He knew a pop culture reference? When did he get into the Wizardnig World? She attempted to convince him to go see _Fantastic Beasts_ , and he said he had paperwork at the mayor's office to finish. He hated paperwork. She found out later he spent the night watching football at John and Lyla's. He told her it was for geeks and not his thing. 

“Like hell!”

“Will you stop flirting? You’re grossing me out. Is this like where you kiss or something because dad that’s disgusting, and as much as I like Felicity, I think I would throw up my breakfast.”

“It would be ‘mantic Will like when Eric kisses Ariel.”

Will mimes throwing up and does his best to disgust his sister. “Princess movies are ew just like you.”

“You’re ew. Prince Eric is way more hansomer than you’ll ever be.”

“Na uh! Grandma says I’m the handsomest you little snot bubble.”

“Fart face!”

“Barf breath.”

“You’re nothing but a big dumb dumb. I hate boys and you.” Mia hops out of her chair and stomps up the stairs, punctuating the silence with the slamming of her door.

Just as Oliver opens his mouth to address his son, William takes off in the opposite direction. His door slams a minute later and Oliver sighs. “Ugh. They should give a manual to parents about what to expect when your kids start talking.”

“It does sound rather helpful. Are they always like that?”

Oliver stacks the dishes from breakfast. “Eh, reminds me of myself and Thea.”

He and Thea despite their ten year age gap argued constantly, annoying the hell out of their parents with their spats. Everything they did bothered the other. Sometimes Thea complained about his breathing and he in turn whined about the way she ate. It wasn’t until the last few years that their relationship transitioned into something more mature and meaningful. They still bugged the hell out of one another, but it wasn’t as common.

“I wish I had a brother growing up.” As a kid, she envied the kids at school who had siblings. There was something there so they wouldn’t be lonely. Sometimes Felicity had to stay in their one bedroom apartment by herself, and she there was no one for her to talk to.

“Felicity?”

“Yes?”

“How long are we going to play this game?”

“And what game would that be Ol-iver?”

“I think you know.”

“I think you should tell me.”

He growls in frustration at her misdirect. “You’re a genius. I think you’ve gathered some information or drawn some conclusions.”

She’s about to respond when her eyes focus in on a picture hanging on the fridge. “What the hell is that?” She hops off her stool and maneuvers herself around the island to get a closer look. “Did you take my kids to fraking Australia to hangout with kangaroos?”

He snags her by her wrist and pulls her in close before he kisses her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	10. Chapter 10

There are very few things that compare to the rush of joy she feels when she and Oliver kiss. She tries to think of something and then realizes the only way to improve upon this is if they were naked and doing some very R rated activities.

Oliver lifts her up onto the counter and moves between her legs. She wraps them around his waist as he presses his lips harder against hers. His tongue traces the seal of her lips until she’s opening up for him. As soon as her lips part, he slides his tongue inside and tangles it with hers. Her hands tangle themselves in his hair as she pulls him closer. His hands remain on her waist when she desperately wants them to move a little higher.

His mouth pulls from hers and he trails kisses across her face and down her neck, and she’s finding it difficult to believe any of this real. Any moment, she’s going to wake-up as a 52 year old widow and Oliver will be nothing but a dream.

“Stop thinking,” he rasps as he nibbles on her neck.

“Can’t help it,” she moans as he sucks at the juncture of her shoulder and neck. She tilts her head back to provide him better access and sighs contently when his lips nip and suck here and there. She doesn’t care he’s likely leaving marks. She wants him to mark her, so she has a reminder that all of this is real. He’s alive and breathing in her arms.

He sighs and pulls away. “Fe-li-ci-ty,” he is using his patient voice.

“I’m sorry, I am, but how is this possible?” She can’t help it. The questions she has are pressing and she doesn’t want to get distracted, no matter how tempting his kisses are.

“Which part?”

She sends him a dirty look. “You’re not cute or dumb, contrary to what people have assumed about you.” He did play up to the stereotype of Ollie Queen more than a few times, and people believed it because he was a rich playboy. Not many people thought about the person behind the fake smile and the dead eyes, or how five years away from society would inevitably lead to changes in his character. It wasn’t until he stepped up as mayor and was eventually revealed as the Green Arrow that people took a second to look beyond appearances.

Oliver rubs his thumb and forefinger together as he composes his thoughts. Everything is a little foggy and he’s distracted by Felicity in his clothes. It isn’t something he thought he would have the chance to see again. “It’s a long story. Can we save it for later?” She purses her lips, the protest ready on her lips when he covers her mouth with his fingers. “You are Felicity from Earth Prime or whatever you want to call it?”

“Yes, and you’re the dumbass who sacrificed himself for the entire multi-verse.” She chokes back a sob. She meant for it to come off a little light hearted, but she can’t joke about it. Losing Oliver profoundly impacted the course of her life. Some might say she would’ve been better off having never met him, but they were wrong.

His face falls and he lowers his head. He doesn’t have much to say to that. There isn’t anything he really can say to make it okay for her. He left her a widow with a baby and a teenager, and he never had the opportunity to give her a proper goodbye. He can’t apologize for his actions because that implied he was sorry, which he wasn’t. He saved his friends and family, his city, and billions and billions of other beings. He had a martyr complex and that time he actually became a martyr. “That would be correct,” he informs her. He senses the suppressed anger she’s held back because ultimately the person she wanted to unleash it on wasn’t there and how can you be mad at someone for saving the entire multi-verse when everyone else praised him as a hero. “You’re mad.”

She closes her eyes and exhales slowly. She was angry for a long time. It was a mix of emotions when she received the news that he was gone and there was no body. The worst wave of emotions came when she realized he wasn’t coming back like he had every other time. There was no one to save him or to sacrifice themselves; he was the one sacrificing himself for everyone else. She cradles his face, licking her lips as she prepares her response. “I was. Then I just missed you so fucking much. I thought about all of the time we wasted, you pushing me away, me staying mad at you about keeping secrets, and it seemed so pointless. In the end, we barely had any time together at all.” They had two years of marriage and not even a full year in a committed relationship before that.

He buries his face in her neck, and she wraps her arms around him. “I hoped the outcome would be different. I think Mia did too. She tried to save me, but I had a different destiny at that point when she came to recover my soul. I wanted nothing more in this whole messed up multi-verse than to come home to you and Mia, but I was called by a higher power to do what needed to be done.”

She believes him. She hears the raw ache and desire in his voice, and she wishes she could take away his pain. Their path wasn’t an easy one, but she doesn’t regret it. She wouldn’t take back a single second with him. “And I thought the Nazis sucked.” He chuckles and she feels the vibrations of his chest.

“I would say the outcome of that particular episode turned out rather well for us. You did propose to me and we got married.”

“I think that’s what you really enjoy about that encounter with your evil counterpart.” His lips curve up against her skin. She rakes her fingers through his soft hair. What she missed the most was talking to him. Sex was great, but she craved the intimacy of being close to him.

He wets his lips, unsure if he wants to know the answer, but feels the compulsion to ask anyway. “D-d-did you- it would be understandable- I wouldn’t be mad- can’t blame you for it.“ He shakes his head.

“I thought I was the one who spoke in sentence fragments.” She interrupts him with a giggle.

He pulls away and she takes in his full appearance. She sees the hesitantly to pose whatever question is bothering him. Felicity suspects it’s about her love life and she wants to shake the silly man for thinking she could find better than him. “If you’re asking about if there was anyone else, the answer is no.”

His eyes widen as he furrows his brow. “No one?” He makes it sound like an impossibility that she remained single after his death. She hasn’t decided if she’s offended or flattered by his tone. She notes he seems pleased by the notion as his eyes sparkle.

“Only you,” she tells him before cupping his jaw and pulling him in for a kiss. Their breaths mingle hot and sticky as their tongues meet in the middle. Oliver deepens the kiss, claiming her lips hungrily. He savors the taste of coffee and syrup, a potent mixture, and his senses are heightened.

“Daddy?” He hears in the distance followed by the patter of tiny feet. “Oh!” Mia exclaims upon catching her daddy and Felicity kissing.

Oliver jumps away from her like she burned him. A dark blush stains his cheeks, and Felicity finds it adorable.

“Were you kissing?” Mia’s eyes sparkle as she stares between the two adults. “Do you like each other? Is she going to be your girlfriend? Ooh can I plan the wedding? Will she become our mom if you get married?”

Felicity makes a choking sound and Oliver reaches out to stroke her thigh. He understands the reason for her reaction. He keeps his gaze focused on the overly curious and manipulative four year old. “Um…” he doesn’t have answers for her as he and Felicity hadn’t done a whole lot of talking. Technically she’s his wife, but legally speaking in this world, she’s just an employee for his family’s company. “We- uh… I was just um helping Felicity to breathe. She was choking on a strawberry, so I gave her mouth to mouth.”

The woman in question is glaring daggers at his head for his weak excuse.

Mia stares at him skeptically, her eyebrows furrow as she tilts her head. She scratches her head. “I thought you had to be flat to do CPR.” Felicity snorts at the mess Oliver has made for himself. She’s curious to hear how he plans to dig himself out of this hole. “I’m going to go tell William and then call Auntie Thea. She thinks you don’t know how to kiss girls anymore.” Mia runs out of the room before her father has a chance to grab her.

“Fuck,” he mutters as he stares at the spot his daughter stood thirty seconds ago.

Felicity giggles. “She told me you’re a perpetual bachelor.”

He turns to the fridge and bangs his forehead against the door a few times in an attempt to release his frustration. If Mia shares the news of his lip lock with his ‘wife’, then Thea is never going to leave him alone again. He adores his sister and appreciates the time they have together that they missed out on in his first life, however he doesn’t miss how nosy and invasive she was.

Felicity poorly attempts to muffle her laughter with her hands, but the situation is too hilarious for her to stifle all of her giggles. The carefree side of Oliver was one she rarely spent time with between every villain du jour and all of the crises they were had to avert. Being hero took precedent over everything else in their lives and they were forced to subvert parts of themselves to save their city.

Oliver halts his actions and turns to her with a frown marring his handsome face. Felicity refuses to look away after having only pictures for decades. Hearing his voice is a balm to her heart because that was the first thing to disappear from her memory. There were videos of him, but it wasn’t the same as recalling the timber of it on her own. “Something wrong?” She asks.

“Where would you rank it?”

Her forehead crinkles in confusion as she has no fraking idea what he’s referencing. “What? You’re going to need to use a few more words. I know you have that monosyllabic thing, but in this case some elaboration would be useful.”

He cracks a smile. “On the list of stupid things I’ve done that you pissed you off. I think I’ve got the top five. There’s the nasty business with the League and marrying Nyssa,” by the downturn of her lips, he knows that moment of foolhardy ranks fairly high. “I’m going to say the Isabel thing.”

She scowls and flips him off. While they weren’t dating and she has no right to feel an iota of jealousy related to the she-devil, she still has the irrational urge to claw the woman’s eyes out.

“Whether you feel entitled to it, doesn’t matter.” He tells her, and her eyebrows shoot up. “You kind of said that out loud. I was beyond jealous when you were with Ray and Billy. In both cases, you were with them because I was an ass.”

She crosses her arms. If he’s asking her to disagree with him, she won’t. He was a total asshole and refused to penetrate his walls. Felicity snorts. “I don’t disagree.”

“Um let’s see, oh there’s the whole bunker incident. You couldn’t resist telling me ‘I told you so’.” While Oliver does find it aggravating when says it, he also secretly enjoys it. He knows she’s right 98% of the time, not that he’ll ever admit it to her.

“You were being an idiot,” she crosses her legs. His eyes track the movement. He doesn’t have a great visual of her shapely legs as they’re covered by his baggy sweatpants, but he knows what’s underneath. “Although my idea didn’t work either.”

“We did get out of there, and I came away knowing you loved me.” He worried after the engagement and all the fallout surrounding it that she would never love him again. She didn’t want his ring and while she did come back to the team and supported him, it wasn’t the same sort of camaraderie they shared in the past.

“You thought I didn’t?”

He runs a shaky hand through his hair as he turns away from her. The hurt in her voice is overwhelming, and he’s been the cause of a lot of her pain. He approaches her and cages her in his arms. “After our time in the bunker,” he wags his brows, so she comprehends what he’s alluding to. “You made it fairly clear we weren’t getting back together, and you kept your distance. Then you dated Billy, and I swear it was karmic justice for all the hearts I’ve broken. If they felt a modicum of what I experienced, then I deserved every stab in the heart when I saw you with him.”

Felicity is speechless. It’s rare but does happen on occasion. “You never said anything.”

“I didn’t want to be a jackass. You put up with a lot from me, and you deserved to have your own happiness.”

“Even if it wasn’t with you?” Her heart breaks a little at his reasoning. His self-sacrificing nature is one of the reasons she loves and curses him. “Do you know it kills me inside when you say things like that?” He opens his mouth to say something, but she glares at him. “Shh! I’m talking and you’re going to listen. I’ve had twenty years to think about everything I’ve ever wanted to say to you. There are all these conversations I dreamt up because I couldn’t have them, so your time talking is over. It’s my turn. Understood?”

He nods his head ready to hear what she has to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will get more of an explanation next chapter about everything and there will be more William and Mia too. 
> 
> Thoughts? Comments? Questions?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is doing well in these confusing and troubling times. Enjoy!

From the moment she woke up, Felicity felt as if she were having an out of body experience. What was happening to her was the stuff science fiction and fantasy novels were made of with epic reunions between lovers, star crossed lovers, souls traversing the multiverse, she may have been a genius, but it was a lot for her to process.

She never thought, scratch that, she did entertain the idea that it was possible the Oliver of this earth was hers. Although seemingly plausible as she was brought here by the Monitor, who hadn’t explained anything, to finally be with him, she just couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Things like that weren’t meant for her. She accepted it as truth a long time ago. As soon as she found some semblance of happiness, it was snatched from her before she had the chance to truly enjoy it.

The sort of happiness that blanketed everyone around her evaded her grasp. She could touch it with the tips of her finger, but never grasp it. Case in point, the night she got engaged, she was shot and paralyzed and then came the lies that were the real betrayal. Another example was her first date with Oliver when they stopped pussyfooting and he began to embrace the idea she returned his feelings, everything went completely sideways when the restaurant was blow up and he halted any further action on their relationship. Bad things constantly came out of the woodwork to destroy that for which she, they worked, and she realized she was terrified of it happening again.

Then he kissed her, her worries vanishing instantly as she melted into him, felt his scruff scrape against her skin, tasted the sweetness of breakfast on his lips, and for the first time in a long time knew she was home.

He’s different is the first thing she notices about him, not his physical appearance, but the way he carries himself. The heaviness that often surrounded him on earth-1 is no longer there. He doesn’t bear the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. His body is relaxed, his eyes clear and bright, and there’s a smile teasing his lips even after she’s essentially just threatened to use her loud voice on him. Was his personality transplanted too? Or had he had one too many knocks to the head?

“Come on, let me help you down,” he steps closer, his touch careful and light as he gently but firmly grips her waist and lifts her off the counter.

She stumbles into his chest and definitely appreciates what she feels. His chest is rock hard, and she’s always loved a very fit man. She inhales deeply having missed the smell of him for twenty years. She cried endlessly when his smell finally faded from his pillow and kept the drawer with his things closed in an attempt to preserve his scent for as long as possible. There was something woodsy and smokey, and then something that was purely Oliver.

“Thanks, although you know I could’ve done that myself,” she tells him as she steps back.

He holds his hands up innocently as if she wasn’t onto his real goal. He wanted to cop a feel. She felt the brush of his fingers on her ass. “I was just being a gentleman.”

She snorts. There is something to be said about that. He was raised by Moira Queen, literal queen of appearances and manners, and had the highest expectations. “Then why did I feel your hand on my butt?” She quirks a brow at him.

He raises his eyes and whistles as his cheeks darken. He’s adorable and hers. She lifts up on her toes and places a lingering kiss on his cheek.

“Before we go talk or you use your loud voice, which I probably deserve, we should check on Mia and William. Mia and William have tablets connected to the Internet and even though it’s a school day, I wouldn’t put it past either of them not to call my sister about this latest development.” His ears turn red. She finds his embarrassment endearing. “Thea is nothing if not relentless in her pursuit to find me a girlfriend.” Felicity heard as much from his daughter.

She nods as the past few minutes catches up to her. Mia did catch them in the act and jumped to a lot of different conclusions about their relationship, promptly ending with her informing her aunt of recent developments. It reminds her that they need to have a discussion about the presence of Mia and William in his life. She has a lot of questions surrounding their existence, his custody, and other related things.

He reaches down taking hold of her hand, interlocking their fingers, and tears pierce her eyes at the perfection of it. It was the little things she missed the most like holding hands or hugging. Sex was nice, well more than nice, but it was the intimacy she longed for in their time apart. It was why she knew she couldn’t move on with another after being with him. Her previous relationships paled in comparison to what they shared. She couldn’t give herself to them, the way she did to Oliver.

She follows him into the entryway and down a set of stairs. “I feel like you and your son are plotting to confuse me.”

He turns to her with a laugh. “What?” His brows are furrowed in confusion. “Felicity, honey, I love you, but what are you talking about?”

She tries to ignore the way her heart physically jolts at the words, but she can’t. He loves her. He still loves her. That has to mean something. Maybe he was right all of those years ago when he told her how nothing could change the way he feels about her. “Yesterday, William took me up a different staircase,” she directs her thumb in the direction they came from. “Then this morning he took me on a different route and went on to tell me the house isn’t that big.”

“It isn’t.” He replies. “I- when I got custody of Mia, I decided it was best for the three of us to move out of the mausoleum.” She bites her lip to keep her laughter in. She assumed he was okay with the wealth he was born into, but the island did change him in profound ways. He realized early on that money could do a lot of things, but it wasn’t the only language people spoke. “It was stuffy and overly large, and while my formative years were spent roaming the grounds and running around like I was a king causing mischief wherever I went, it’s never felt like home after I returned from the island and after the passing of my father. If anything, it was the equivalent of a prison for me. I was trapped under the expectations of my mother, and we weren’t exactly on the same page about the course of my life at that point.”

She figures that is an understatement. It was one of the reasons Moira Queen annoyed the hell out of her. It took her far too long to accept the son she had rather than the one she wished him to be even before he spent years in exile. Robert and Moira Queen had envisioned their son’s entire life before he could walk, and then were disappointed when he failed to meet their impossibly high standards, when he eschewed every opportunity thrown his way, and when he refused to clean up his image. Oliver was a rebel and he rebelled against all of their grand plans for him.

“I bet,” she says. Everything is on the tip of her tongue, but they don’t need to have discussion about his mother at that very moment. There are far more pressing issues than Moira Queen and the stick up her ass. She wants to believe things are different for the mother and son here, but she also knows them. Moire dislikes when her plans go awry and Oliver straying from the family company was definitely not part of her vision.

She follows him downstairs to a short hallway with three doors. He ignores the first two and twists the knob on the third. One day she hopes she will stop finding herself surprised by the blatant displays of wealth by the Queen family. She may have married into it and started her own company that made her wealthy in her own right, but she could never view money in the same way they did. It had a very different meaning to her after growing up in Vegas with a single mother and attending college on a scholarship.

The room he drags her is Mia and William’s playroom. Felicity has no words to describe what she’s seeing. She blinks, rubs her eyes as her mouth falls open. “They have their own little town?” She hears her voice, but it feels disconnected from the rest of her as her head swivels around to take in the full picture.

Her turns back to her with a sheepish expression on her face.

“I don’t know what to say.” Her eyes roam around the large space. It’s set up like a town square with a post office, bakery, and other little shops. In the center, is a small round table where she spots both children. “That bakery has its’ own mini kitchen. Oliver!” She whispers sharply so as not to alert William and Mia to her distress.

He rolls his eyes at her. She’s tempted to punch him for it. “Yeah, so it’s a bit… ostentatious.” Her brows shoot up her forehead. “Okay, a lot,” he amends. “We met with a designer two years ago to remodel the space and they wanted it.” He is annoyed with her.

She softens her face. Oliver was less about words and demonstrated his love and affection with gestures, probably a carry over from his childhood. From what he and Thea shared with her over the years, his childhood wasn’t like this. His parents were far too busy and self-involved to pay much attention to things like setting up their kids’ dream playroom. They bought their children’s affections with the latest video game or cars. Oliver told her he didn’t want to turn into his parents. He wasn’t going to give his kids everything except himself.

“No, I’m sorry.” The words taste like ash as apologies are her least favorite words to deliver In this case, they are required. “You’re giving Mia and William a great life. From the few interactions I’ve had with Mia, she’s wonderful and doesn’t seem at all spoiled. She’s a little um… talkative.” He snorts.

“They’re not really. I make them do chores. We donate old toys and clothes every six months, we volunteer at the soup kitchen, and I don’t give them everything they want. I don’t want them to turn into me.”

She kisses his bicep. “Baby, there’s no chance of that happening with you as their father. I mean it. You make them breakfast. Did your parents do that for you?”

He shoots her a ‘are you serious’ look. “You know my mother can’t cook and we had Raisa prepare our meals unless it was an event, then they hired caterers.”

“See! You’re teaching them about compassion, responsibility, empathy, and independence which is something your parents failed to do for you or Thea.” She doesn’t want to insult his parents as they were responsible for creating him, however their lack of parenting heavily influenced their children’s teen and young adult years. Both Thea and Oliver partied and drank with Thea heavily involved in drugs to suppress her thoughts and feelings. They were accustomed to burying all of their issues under the rug, which inevitably came back later to bite them in the ass. It was how they were taught to deal with their problems given his parents penchant for buying silence to hide their children’s misdeeds.

“I’m proud of you.” She really is. Mia and William are as exceptional here as they are back in their old universe. “You moved out on your own too with two small children. You’re remarkable.”

“Thank you for remarking on it,” there’s a shyness to him that she’s never really experienced with him. She likes it. Then again, she’s partial to just about every version of this man. “Come on, let’s go see what they’re doing.”

She traipses after him, poking her head in through all of the archways to see what’s in each ‘room’.

Mia and William sit at their table in their square on their tablets. Mia notices them first. “Auntie Thea says she wants all the tea. She plans to come over for dinner.” The little girl sports a proud grin. Her eyes sparkle with delight, and Felicity has to hand it to her. She’s perceptive and tenacious. Felicity isn’t surprised by the use of the word ‘tea’ as Mia seems to spend a lot of time around her teenaged aunt.

Felicity giggles when Oliver groans dramatically. Apparently, they were too late to intercept any messages to his sister to avert a potential crisis. He crosses his arms over his chest, and she’s taken back to their days in the bunker. He has the same exact stance. “I see. What exactly did you tell her?”

She has to admit she’s curious about Mia’s version events. There’s no way in hell she failed to mention their kiss, but anything else she said was a fabrication, at least as far as anyone else was concerned.

William glances up from his tablet. “I want it to be known that I had nothing to do with this. I’m innocent and shouldn’t get into any trouble.”

Mia scowls at her brother and aims a kick at his shin. It’s swift and looks like it hurt. William warned her earlier that morning about Mia’s kicks. “Hey none of that!” Oliver doesn’t have to raise his voice to command the attention of his children. “Apologize to your brother. Actually both of you owe one another apologies and Felicity one for the way you behaved at breakfast.”

Identical scowls appear on both of their faces at that news, and all she can see is their father in them. Theirs don’t have the same fierceness behind it, but they convey their displeasure well.

“Fine,” Will grumbles unhappily. “I’m sorry for calling you names at breakfast.” There’s a distinct lack of sincerity in his voice. She shakes her head, predicting what’s about to happen next.

“I’ve heard more passion at funerals. You can put a little feeling into it.”

She sees the boy resist the urge to roll his eyes. Seriously, Oliver hasn’t realized that Mia and Will are his copies. They’ve picked up many of his mannerisms and it’s eery.

His face shifts and he forces a smile, although his eyes are softer. “I’m sorry Mia. I didn’t mean what I said and I love you.”

Mia’s face brightens dramatically as she launches herself into her brother’s arms. “I’m sorry too Willie. You’re the bestest.”

They turn to her at the same time and issue their apologies simultaneously. “It’s okay guys, you were fine. I’ve seen siblings fight and it happens.” The other William and Mia fought constantly when Mia became a pre-teen. She constantly bugged her brother, bombarding him with phone calls and begging him to come over. She popped up at his place often and involved herself in his love life. “It’s all water under the bridge.”

The little girl’s face scrunches as she tilts her head. “What does that mean?”

“It’s an expression, honey. Felicity means that its’ in the past is all.” She sends him a small smile to thank him as her explanation would’ve been far longer than his. He tugs her closer to him and throws an arm around her shoulders. It should worry her how easily she sinks into his body, but all she can think about is how natural and right it feels. “Look I wish you hadn’t told your Auntie Thea, but since you did, I guess now would be the time to tell you Felicity is my girlfriend.”

She is? Since when? Technically they were beyond that, but she supposes they can’t exactly tell people they’re from another universe without receiving strange looks and ending up locked inside a psychiatric center. She can live with the term girlfriend as long as they discuss it and their future plans. She isn’t letting him go this time.

Will and Mia share twin looks of excitement, and a loud squeal bursts through Mia’s lips as she launches herself off her brother’s lap across the room into Felicity’s legs. “Oomph.”

“So you do like my daddy? I told you he needed a girlfriend. This is so cool.” She bounces excitedly and her rapid chatter is hard to follow as her mouth doesn’t stop moving. Felicity is impressed with her breath control.

Oliver untangles himself from her and heads over to Will. She isn’t worried about whatever father and son discuss. Neither of their faces displays anything but utter contentment and understanding, which isn’t something she can say happened all the time in their first lives. Is that the right way to describe what’s happening to them now? She’s unsure and might have to discuss it with Oliver, not that she thinks he knows the answer either.

Will’s eyes flash a couple of times in her direction as his sister prattles on, unaware she’s lost the attention of her audience. “Mia, do you think you could take a breath? I understand you’re very excited, but I think your face is turning blue from lack of oxygen.”

The little girl stops, takes in a deep breath, and then exhales dramatically. Yes, she was definitely her father’s daughter. “I’m just really excited.” Mia bounces on her toes. “Daddy’s last girlfriend, we don’t talk about her. She was mean and yelled at us. She hit Will on the face.”

Felicity’s fists clench when she hears this. She fights the urge to demand a name and do everything within her limited power to destroy said woman who had the audacity to slap a child, to hit William. “I’m sorry that happened to you.” She kneels in front of Mia taking her small hands into her own. The tiny nails are painted bright pink. “I promise I won’t ever hit you or your brother, or yell in your faces.”

Mia stares up at her with enormous eyes and then throws her arms around Felicity’s neck, throwing her off balance. She soaks up the touch of Mia Queen. “I made a good choice. You and daddy looks good together. Will you come to my birthday party in two weeks? I’m gonna be five. It’s going to be a superhero tea party.”

Felicity isn’t terribly surprised by the theme after everything she’s learned about the little girl in the last month. Mia was a walking, talking contradiction, and she loved it. She did the unexpected and didn’t care much for what was standard. She was a girl after her own heart. “I would love to,” she smiles widely.

“Great!” She cheers, kissing her cheek. “I think daddy wants to take you now.” Mia says as she glances at her dad looming behind them.

Felicity thinks it’s amazing kids remain unaware of unintentional sexual innuendoes as Mia’s words were loaded. There were two different interpretations, and she didn’t mind either of them. Although, one was likely to bring her a lot more pleasure than the other. “Okay, why don’t you go play with your brother.”

“Will you play with us later? Will gets boring and doesn’t like playing bakery all the time or school.” She sounds exasperated with her brother’s lack of participation.

Felicity stifles a laugh. “Sure,” she agrees without thought. Oliver rushes over and extends his hand to help her up. She takes it instantly. “So charming.”

“Daddy is a gentleman. He treats ladies right. Auntie Thea says he always gave them a good tim-“

“Okay, that’s enough of you.” Oliver interrupts. “You need to stop listening to my sister and she needs to stop saying stuff like that in front of you.”

Mia’s eyes crinkle. “I don’t get it. Doesn’t that mean being nice?”

Felicity turns her head away to hide the smile threatening to split her face. Oliver squeezes her hand in warning. “Yes, that’s absolutely correct. When a boy takes you on a date, he should be nice and if he wants to kiss you, then you shouldn’t acce-“ She elbows him in the ribs.

She won’t allow him to plant those thoughts in Mia’s head. “Ignore your daddy sweetheart, he’s being an ass-inine idiot. Boys should treat girls nicely and girls should treat boys the same way, but you’ll understand more about that when the time comes.” Mia shrugs off their strange behavior.

“Well I’m going to go play with my dolls. Have fun with daddy Feli-city.”

William waves to them, but his attention is still focused on whatever is on his tablet. “You can’t poison her against boys. She’s not even five,” she hisses at him as they leave the two kids.

Oliver is unbothered and unashamed by his words. “Why? I don’t want her dating some shithead like me. I was a terrible guy in my teens.”

“And you’ll be there to help guide Mia and Will when it’s time for them to date, but right now the just need you to be their dad. Mia thinks boys are gross anyway.”

His posture relaxes as he guides her through one of the other three doors. “This is my office. The door across is our laundry room.” There are built-in shelves filled with books, nick knacks, and photos. His desk is spotless in typical Oliver fashion as the man despises clutter.

He leads her over the cushioned window seat and pulls her into his lap. He leans back against the pillows and she follows him, her back resting against his chest. “Okay, you can officially talk. I’m all ears.”

Most of her steam disappeared after they left the kitchen. There is still some repressed anger and other feelings, but she feels overwhelmingly grateful for the opportunity to finally clear the air between them. As happy as they were before everything went to hell in a hand basket, there were a lot of things they agreed to never discuss.

“Oliver, I don’t pretend to know what’s happened in our time away from another, or how long it’s been for you, but for me this was the longest twenty years of my life, which is saying something.” She takes a deep breath before forging on. “When everyone came back from your last mission, they started sending their condolences and constantly calling, and it was a lot. I needed the time to get my bearings because it didn’t seem possible at all. You had always come back to me and part of me held out hope that you would beat the odds once again to return home.”

“But I didn’t,” his lips press against her hair.

“No you didn’t,” she cries. His hands gently cup her face and turn her to face him. He strokes away all of her tears with a sad smile. “I’m not mad, not really. I definitely hated that it had to be you who sacrificed himself once again. It was highly unfair. I still think it was stupid of you, but I get why you did it.” She really does. “I watched you for seven years sacrifice yourself and your own happiness to protect your family, friends, and your home. Hell, you even sacrificed us at the alter.” He winces at the reminder of how he pushed her away. “I wanted so badly to move on from you and be happy, but you’re integral to my happiness. I wasn’t in love with Billy or Ray for that matter. From the moment you brought me that laptop with the bullet holes and fed me your shitty excuses, I was gone for you. By the time you popped up bleeding all over my backseat after your mom shot you, I was in way too deep.”

She remembers how her heart nearly stopped when they arrived at the Foundry. He was completely unconscious and she needed assistance getting him out of the car if she wanted any chance of saving his life. It was the first time she was aware of his trust in her. He chose her and she’s carried that with her through the years.

“You were the biggest mystery of all, and you kept unfolding like a flower the longer I knew you. You always said that I didn’t know you, but I do. I see you for the amazing, complex, loving, idiotic man that you are. I knew from the beginning you had the potential to be one of the greatest heroes and you were. You really were.” She feels the tears slide down her face as she catches his eyes.

In those seconds, their eyes convey more than words ever would. They never really needed words to know the important things. “I don’t regret asking the Monitor to bring me back to you because seven years in all of our different capacities wasn’t enough for me. Now, I didn’t exactly expect all of this when I stepped through the portal, but I won’t complain either.”

He chuckles as his thumbs stroke the apples of her cheeks. “Felicity, I- well it’s difficult to explain, but this particular universe was birthed because of my love for you. It didn’t exist before Crisis. I wasn’t always here, in fact I didn’t pop into this body until five years ago.”

“So where the hell have you been? I don’t understand.”

“Everywhere and nowhere. As the Spectre, I wasn’t human anymore. My body was destroyed and I was a soul.” His face scrunches the same way Mia’s does. “I don’t think I’m explaining this right, but anyway it took some thousand or so years for the next person to be called to action. And as a ‘reward’ my soul and this body merged. I guess the universe or whatever wanted to give my a chance at life, to give us a chance. You and I we are connected and tied together by more than just the bonds of marriage and our time was cut short. I didn’t know I had created this universe until the Monitor told me about it. I didn’t know he planned to bring you here either.” His head tilts as he regards her. “How did you figure out it was me anyway?”

She grins mysteriously as he pokes her. “I’ll never tell.”

He takes it as a challenge and begins to tickle her. Her laughs fill the air as she struggles for breath under his attack. “Tell me,” he says lifting up.

“No.”

He digs his fingers back in and tickles her wherever he can reach. She feel herself wavering as he continues never letting up. “Fine, uncle, uncle,” she calls out of breath. He smirks smugly at her. “It was you. I didn’t know anything until yesterday. Mia told me about her Halloween costume, and I was curious about this Girl Wednesday, so I decided to buy the entire series. Besides I figured out fairly easy you were the author as you used the Russian word for queen as your last name and your middle name for the first name.”

His jaw drops. “Have you been snooping?”

“Is that judgment I hear?”

“No,” he replies. “Pride.”

She leans forward and kisses him. His lips are warm and soft under hers as he melts into the kiss. His hands slide in her hair as he pulls her closer, not that she minds. Her tongue darts out to test the waters, brushing against his lips before pressing forward and entering his mouth. His moan is instant as their tongues duel languidly.

She maneuvers her body, throwing a leg over his lap. She pulls back breathless, her breathing harsh to her ears. “I love you Oliver Queen with all of my heart. I don’t care about the rest. You were the missing piece, and I’m never letting you go again.”

His lips surge forward, capturing hers. Her fingers run through his hair, enjoying the silky touch after having been deprived for too long. Their lips fights, hungry and desperate. Her hips rock into his and she feels his arousal. “Oh god,” she moans as he thrusts upward.

Their lips draw back together as their bodies moved in tandem. He angles his head to deepen the kiss as his tongue continued to tease. Their combined gasps and moans fill the air like beautiful music, their own personal composition.

His hands travel down the curves of her body, coming to rest on her hips. He jerks upwards and she feels him there, she’s throbbing and wet, and perhaps Mia was right about her dad taking her.

She mewls helplessly as his lips trail down her jaw and neck, nipping and sucking hungrily. She holds onto his shoulders as they grind against each other. His fingers tighten on her waist as their movements become more frantic. She tosses her head back as pleasure shoots to her core. It’s been so long and she wants to feel his skin rough against hers, hear his pulse, and have him lose control in her.

Sadly, neither of them get their release as the door is thrown open. “And here I thought you were spending a nice, relaxing day at home with your little rascals, but you're a sly dog.”

Felicity doesn’t need to ask who it is. She buries her face in his neck as she groans and not in the pleasurable way.

“Tommy,” Oliver growls. “What the hell are you doing here? You said you would handle everything at the office.”

And Felicity shares his disappointment at their second interruption of the day. She was never going to have sex again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cock blocked again, poor Oliver and Felicity getting interrupted. Thoughts?


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello fellow shippers, this chapter isn't as O/F heavy, but it definitely sets the scene for what's about to happen.

Oliver shares her disappointment over Tommy’s barging into his office, interrupting their moment that was on its’ way to becoming quite heated. The connection between them is there and he wants to lose control with her as no one inspires it in him like her. He wants to lay her on his bed, admire the way her hair splays across his bedspread, and kiss his way down her body before entering her, joining them completely, cementing their love.

Sadly, that is a dream with his long time friend hovering in the doorway with a lecherous grin spread across his all too knowing face. Oliver resists the urge to lob an object at his head.

Felicity senses the urgency in Tommy’s abrupt arrival and decides to leave them alone. She puts her lips to his ear, her tongue darting out to trace the shell of it. He shudders when the moist muscle makes contact with his sensitive flesh, a deep flush covers his face as Tommy stares unabashedly at the couple. There’s a question in his eyes, and Oliver isn’t looking forward to the upcoming conversation. “Don’t worry baby,” she whispers throatily, her breath tickling the tiny hairs. “You can unwrap me later and make me cum as many times as we can manage. I want to feel you pulsing and thrusting in me with your arms bracketed around me and your tongue doing delicious things to me.”

Tommy is curious about the bespectacled blonde woman who has his best friend all worked up. He has known Oliver his entire life and has never seen him react to a woman like he is to her and his curiosity is piqued to say the least. Normally Oliver leaves women quaking and drooling in his haste, but whoever she is, she’s leaving him an incoherent mess. His eyes are clouded over and his mouth hangs slightly open as she whispers in his ear.

He is too far to hear her exact words, but whatever they are, if looks could kill, Tommy would be dead upon first glance for interrupting whatever was happening in this office.

“I was looking forward to your thick fingers, but maybe I’ll go take a shower instead, you know wash all the hospital grime off me and take care of the uncomfortable throbbing between my legs. I think I’ll do it in your shower too, surrounding myself with your smell and picturing it’s you filling me. Ahh what a great idea,” Oliver groans, his cock feeling the pain. His mind conjures the image of her there in his great big shower, the glass steaming up, her rosy nipples pert and begging for his attention, and the way her eyes darken when she’s aroused.

He seriously considers telling Tommy to ‘fuck off’, but they run a business together. His visit is likely related to something in the company and requires his immediate attention.

Felicity pats his chest, her fingers sensually traveling across his chest as she lifts herself off his lap and his very large erection. She smirks at him as her eyes lower. “You fucking minx,” he hisses at her, his eyes flashing dangerously with desire. “Just you wait.” He promises her. When he’s through with her, she won’t be able to use her legs for days. He licks his lips thinking about what’s to come and the anticipation adds to it.

“I’ll let you two handle business and I’ll just be in the… shower.” Her voice is low and seductive, and if he didn’t already have a raging hard on, he would after that.

“Felicity,” he growls at her.

Her saucy smiles grows, she waves goodbye at him, and sashays out of the room with an extra swish of her hips. His eyes linger on her departing ass, and he realizes none of his daydreams have done justice to that ass. It’s much rounder and perkier than in his imagination, and his mind conjures the image of him ramming her from behind, her ass jiggling as his hips smack into her.

His friend couldn’t have worse timing if he tried.

“What the fuck was that?” Tommy has no words to describe what he witnessed. His best friend, the lady whisperer who talked numerous woman out of his panties in their teens, was bested by a woman. “Who is she?”

Oliver averts his eyes and forces his body to cool down after Felicity’s departure. He refuses to think about where she’s headed, her glistening naked body, and her thrusting fingers. Nope, he isn’t going to think about any of it. He’s immune to her womanly wiles. Oh who the hell is he kidding, he may have fooled her in those early years, but he’s never been able to resist Felicity, despite what she thought. He still is in disbelief over her misguided notion that them dating was an impossibility. If anything, it was what he wanted the most and refused to take when it was willingly offered.

“Um that’s my g-girlfriend.” He hesitates over the word as what Felicity is to him encompasses something far larger than the term girlfriend implies. She’s his partner in everything, his soulmate, his wife. He will have to work on fixing that last one since in this life they are legally nothing to each other and that won’t do. It took him a long time to get his head out of his ass, for her to stop running when things were too scary, and for them to finally embrace what they deserved. He refuses to allow it to happen again. He doesn’t think she will protest at all if he were to get down on a knee and ask, however there’s also the world at large. He can’t do what he wants with his mother constantly hovering over him and his sister butting into his personal life.

Tommy dramatically widens his eyes and lets out a long whistle. “That’s your girlfriend?”

Oliver is irritated by his tone. “What about it?” His voice is gruff and bordering on unfriendly. If his wife was there, she would undoubtedly smack his arm for the shift and behaving like a caveman. However, she isn’t and Tommy’s reaction to her bothers him.

Tommy holds up his hands defensively. “Nothing, nothing, she’s just different from your normal type.”

“Maybe she broke the mold.” Oliver has had years and years to think about this. One of the reasons Felicity considered the idea of them as ludicrous was directly related to his penchant to chase after leggy brunettes that were ill matched for him. None of them invoked the feelings in him that Felicity did including Laurel.

“Well now isn’t that interesting,” Tommy slow claps to congratulate his lovestruck best friend. He never thought the day would arrive where Oliver would find a woman to settle down. As he aged, he grew pickier and stopped actively dating. He went on the occasional date with a push from the females in his life, but they never went past the first date. “You found the one.”

There are two distinct spots of pink on his face and Tommy has to shake his head. “I’m happy for you. How long have you been dating?”

A soft smile forms on Oliver’s face. “Not long, yet it feels as if we’ve known each other for forever. She makes me happy and she’s incredibly smart and driven. She doesn’t care about my money like at all.” It is part of her appeal the fact that she didn’t care an iota whether he was billionaire Oliver Queen or just Oliver.

She loved him for who he was and to hell with the rest of it. It made her different and he liked it.

“How did you meet?”

Ironic that it happened in the same room both times he first met her. “In the IT department at QC.”

“She works for your mom?” Tommy furrows his brows. “Isn’t that like a conflict of interest? How can you be sure she doesn’t have ulterior motives for dating you?” Tommy doesn’t want to play Devil’s advocate, but he has to protect his best friend in case the relationship goes south.

“No, I don’t have any power in the company. Yeah, I’ve got my shares from my inheritance and what my dad left me, however, I’m not really her boss. I’m a member of the board and vote at our meetings, but aside from that, I don’t have many dealings in the company itself. We’ve kept our relationship on the down low because she doesn’t want to attract the attention of everyone at QC. She doesn’t want any of the perks that come with being attached to me.”

Tommy is shocked. Growing up as two of the wealthiest children in the city and in school, he and Oliver rarely knew who their real friends were and who wanted the notoriety of hanging out with the heirs of two different billion dollar companies. Everyone wanted something from them and while he partied in his youth to hide from it, he learned how to separate the real from the fake when he decided to grow up.

From the way Oliver speaks of the mysterious blonde woman, he’s more than lovestruck. He is completely in love with her and that’s something wholly different to what he thought when he entered the room. He stares at the other man as if he hasn’t truly seen him before and maybe the truth is he hasn’t. His best friend is the brother he never had, but he doesn’t know everything about the other man either. “You love her. Correction, you’re in love with her.” He states, not that it’s necessary. They know it’s true. “Have you told her?”

“She knows,” he grins. “Before her, I didn’t think love was made for me. She flipped that and my entire world onto its’ side, and she doesn’t take any of my shit.”

“Oh like when you get all broody and emo, and it’s like you’re a twelve year old girl who refuses to admit her feelings.”

Oliver glowers at him and flips him off for good measure. “You’re a fucking asshole, do you know that?” Tommy shrugs as if it wasn’t news to him. “Anyway,” he discreetly readjusts himself. “What brings you by? I thought you said you had the office covered today.”

“There’s some paperwork requiring your John Hancock and no one at the office could get ahold of you. I offered to drive over.”

“Okay, sure,” he strides across the room to Tommy, takes the folder with the documents and takes a seat at his desk. Tommy shifts and moves over to the empty chair. There’s no way in hell he will ever sit on the window seat ever again. He wrinkles his nose, his gaze lingering on the rumpled cushions. It is the middle of the day and his children are home. Oliver is far from a monk, although he’s done a good impression of one for the last five years. He has to have the biggest case of blue balls if the tension he walked into fifteen minutes ago was an indication. “I’m not sure about signing off for the budget on Caleb’s book tour. Don’t get me wrong, he’s one of our best selling author’s, but he’s a dick who spends way too much and has an elevated sense of worth.”

Tommy snorts at the massive understatement. Caleb Preston was one of the first author’s they signed aside from his best friend, which no one knew about. There were a lot of NDAs involved to keep any in the company from revealing the real author of the graphic novel series. His friend values privacy, the exact opposite of the illustrious Caleb. There’s nothing elusive about him. He’s a talented asshole, but his personality leaves a lot to be desired. Tommy has to grind his teeth every time he struts, not walks, into their offices like he owns the goddamn place. There’s two books left in his contract and then they plan to drop him like a hot potato as soon as he’s fulfilled his end. They’re tired of stroking his ego and dealing with the constant negotiations with his agent.

“I don’t like it either, but it’ll get him out of our hair for a while. Also, approving the budgets halts any and all complaints he could possibly have this time around.” They release identical groans at the last time Caleb went on a book tour around the country. It was a nightmare all around for everyone involved including one of their PAs who went with him.

Oliver approves the budget with a quick flourish of his hand. The less he has to deal with the prick, the better it is for everyone. He nearly punched him last time he popped into their offices for running his mouth. “Two more, two more books,” he repeats to himself. He regrets how little experience he had negotiating contracts in those early days. If he had known what a pain in the ass Caleb was, he would’ve limited their book deal. Instead, they agreed to publish a five book series.

“Most of the others are standard day to day operational stuff. I just didn’t feel comfortable signing off on it without your approval.”

Oliver hums thoughtfully as he flips through the documents littering his desk. Tommy is correct in that none of it is pressing, but it is better to take care of it before it becomes a problem. One of them is the contract for one of their newest author’s. It took a long time for them to get the book deal squared away as she had a few publishing companies courting her. They managed to successfully snag her under the noses of some of the biggest publishing houses in the country.

“Am I the only one who knows?”

Oliver lifts an eyebrow without saying a word. Then again, his face has always expressed more than his words.

“About your girlfriend, Felicity, was it?”

The dopey, shy smile is back. Tommy finds it refreshing to watch his friend soften at just the thought of this girl. “Yes her name is Felicity and no. Thea knows. Mia busted us in the kitchen and ran to call my sister.”

Tommy crosses one leg over the other with a slight tilt of his head as he stares at Oliver. “What were you doing in the kitchen?” The lilt in his tone tells Oliver he suspects whatever they were doing was far from innocent.

“It’s not salacious, well maybe a little, there was some kissing and other stuff involved, but it was still innocent. Mia didn’t see anything.”

“The fact that you tacked on the last bit implies there was something to see.”

Oliver swears under his breath. Part of him hoped Tommy would miss that in his little ramble, apparently his friend was using his observation skills today. “Things got heated and if she hadn’t interrupted, we may have gotten carried away.”

“Remind me to send Clorox wipes to disinfect before I eat in your kitchen again.”

“Fuck you.”

“It would be a dream come true for you, but sadly for you I like them smaller, with long, silky locks and beautiful, perky ti-“

“Shut the fuck up. My daughter is in the next room. I don’t want her to hear that shit.”

“Ahh Ollie, you’re right actually.” Mia is his goddaughter and he’s as protective over her as her father and John. He dares some punk kid like he was in his youth to try and pursue her one day. “Maybe she’ll have good taste in guys.”

“I can only hope.” Oliver scratches the back of his neck. Tommy recognizes it as a nervous tick. “But the women in my family haven’t always made the best choices when it comes to the men in their lives.”

“Your mom picked Walter.”

“After my dad who cheated on her a few times.”

“Your parents chose that relationship. It doesn’t lessen their feelings one another. Clearly, they still had some and she mourned him.”

“Still… knowing my luck, Mia will be attracted to some asshole and there isn’t much I can say with my own sordid past.” Some days Tommy regrets all the dumb shit they did together more than others. It was fun at the time to let loose and spend their money carelessly, but looking back with a different mindset, he winces at their stupidity. “One of the reasons my kids aren’t spoiled is because I experienced firsthand what that lifestyle does to you. We were entitled, arrogant shits.” Tommy can’t refute that. “I don’t want them to grow up like that.”

“Hey buddy,” he says softly. “That won’t happen. They are ten times better than we ever were when we were their age. You were right to move out when your mom got overbearing. Stop doubting yourself.”

“You sound like Felicity.”

Tommy blinks stupidly. He could grow to like the woman if she can stop his best friend from being an idiot. “Then she must be smart. And if you don’t listen to me, then listen to her.”

Oliver remains silent, shuffling the paperwork, and then carefully arranges it in the folder. “Okay, here it is. I’ll be back on Monday. If you want you can go see Mia. She’s in the playroom, and she would love for you to sign her cast.” He offers a black marker to Tommy who takes it.

“Why don’t you go find your girlfriend? Maybe she needs a little help in the… shower.”

Oliver glares at him. “I hate you. And just so you know, you're the biggest fucking cock block in the history of the universe.” When Tommy’s footsteps trail off, he pushes himself up and decides to go find the love of his life. If she’s still in the shower, maybe they can have a little fun together until tonight. Because tonight, he is going to ravish her, love her, and fuck her into oblivion. He’s spent too long without her and he can’t go another night. He refuses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, things are going to get very HEATED between our favorite couple.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some NSFW. Enjoy!

Felicity doesn’t know why the overly large and opulent bathroom surprises her the moment she walks in. She knew Oliver when he was a rich billionaire, spending his money without much consideration, followed by him living an almost transient lifestyle with nowhere for him to call home. He was adrift for quite some time and she briefly wonders if that contributed to his self-doubts about pursuing a relationship with her.

Then she was bank rolling, which was a strange role reversal in the dynamics of their relationship/partnership. She sometimes had the impression he in some ways missed the enormous wealth from his childhood. After becoming mayor and practically living in his office during their break-up, he finally found a place for him and son with her moving in a few months later after their impulsive nuptials.

Still none of the places in which they resided together as a couple compare to the home he has built for himself with William and Mia, which reminds her she needs to discuss the two children with him. She has lots of questions and if there’s one thing that hasn’t changed about her in their time apart aside from her expertise in nearly all things tech, it’s that she hates mysteries and feels they need to be solved.

Her eyes run the length of the bathroom, which she suspects knows is larger than her bedroom and probably the apartment she grew up in with her mother. There’s a Jack and Jill, and seeing the other sink devoid of personal belongings saddens her. For the most part, Oliver hasn’t dated anyone since the arrival of his children in his life. He briefly dated some brunette for a month before permanently terminating their relationship. There was a lot of speculation about bad blood between them in the tabloids, not that she puts much stock into what some rags have to say on the matter of his love life.

But seeing it, has a visceral effect and her heart clenches when it hits her that he was as lonely as she was. Just like how she avoided pursuing any romantic relationships after he died because she knew she would never find anyone like him, it seems as if he had done the same. Although, perhaps it was harder for him. She isn’t dead in this world, but she didn’t know him either and isn’t that worse? She was close, breathing and brimming with life. albeit without the memories of a life they had already lived together.

The decorative touches had to be his mother or Thea’s influence as Oliver has never decorated anything in his life. She was the one who fully transformed their homes into homes. Oliver didn’t have much interest in that with his minimalistic style, which aggravated her as she is knick knack kind of girl.

Despite the large exterior of the house, it doesn’t feel as large on the inside. It’s cozy and inviting, and has the feeling of home, or maybe she associates that with Oliver.

She searches for towels, finding them under his many cabinets. Felicity forgoes the tub, figuring at some point she will have an opportunity to use. Instead, she turns the shower on. It’s enormous with plenty of space for two and a little bench.

Without any toiletries, she settles for using his stuff. It isn’t as if she’s never smelled like him in the past. She missed being wrapped up in his scent, smelling him all over her, wearing his clothes, and having confidence he would come back at the end of each day.

At least, here she doesn’t have to think about these things, fear for husband? boyfriend? life partner’s? life. He works a 9 to 5 job without anyone associated dangers involving weapons of mass destruction or assassins hell bent on revenge. He lives a normal life, runs a business whilst raising two kids. It’s everything she knows he’s wanted but never voiced out of fear it would send her running in the opposite direction.

The blonde steps into the shower, sighing when the hot water hits her tight muscles. She rolls her shoulders a little and allows the water to do the rest of the work. She lathers the rag in his ridiculously expensive body wash, inhaling the strong fragrance of cardamom and cedarwood. She has flashes of the same scent enveloping her many a night when she was exhausted from her day and night job and he helped her wash up before tucking her into bed.

Time had dulled her memories, scents fading, the sound of his voice melting into the background, and the difficulty in recalling the specifics of his face from the way his lips would tick up when he was faintly amused by her, or how his eyes crinkled when he laughed. There was so much left unsaid when he left and yet they had also said it all in every way they knew how.

She hears his near silent footfalls as he enters the bathroom and smirks with her eyes directed at the wall. His clothes drop to the floor and the door opens, seconds before arms wrap around her waist. “Oh Mr. Merlyn, I didn’t know you felt this way.”

He growls against her ear. She shivers as his grip on her hips tighten. “You know damn well I don’t share and he’s not your type anyway.”

She chuckles, craning her neck to look back at him. “Do I?” She teases. “You might have to remind me. It’s been some time and Mr. Merlyn was looking quite das-“ He cuts her off with a hungry kiss that has lips, tongues, and teeth clashing.

He swallows her moans, pivoting her body towards him. Her slippery body is pressed against him, and he feels every inch of her from her perky breasts to the smooth expanse of her abdomen. His hands tangle in her hair as he pulls her closer. He’s missed this. For so long he ached to kiss her, to touch her, to hear her cum just for him, only him. The years apart left him with vague memories of their time together, but it pales in comparison to having the real thing in front of him.

He pushes her against the cool, tile wall, her back taking the brunt of his exuberance. She barely notices though when his fingers slide down to her sex, pushing past the thatch of curls and exploring her. His lips are rough as he trails kisses across her jaw and down her neck, his stumbling rubbing against the thin layer of skin.

Oliver dips a finger past her lips tentatively to test the waters. It is all well and good she’s allowed him to get this far, but he is under no delusions and he doesn’t have any expectations about what may or may not happen in this shower.

“Oliver,” she moans breathily as he adds another finger. Her leg wraps around his waist, offering him better angle to thrust his fingers inside of her. He nips at the sinewy muscle of her shoulders, savoring the way her body responds to him. His other hand cups her breast, enjoying the way she pushes her chest out as he strokes the sensitive mound. He brushes his thumb around her peaked nipple before pinching. He grins like the bastard he is when she groans in delight and begs him for more.

Adding another finger, he increases the pace of his pumping fingers. Her keening cries spill out into the bathroom for his ears only and it spurs him on. His thumb gently presses over the tight bundle of nerves, her juices coating his hand. “Fuck, I need to be inside of you.”

“I’m waiting.” Without any preamble, he removes his fingers from her and she whines a little until he replaces it with his very erect and impressive length. His cock slides into her with ease and they both sigh. He lifts her up, holding her against the wall as her legs wraps around his waist.

He tightens his grip on her slippery body, wanting to prevent any accidents from occurring. The last thing either of them need is another trip to the emergency room. They’ve seen the inside of a hospital enough times in their lifetimes.

She cradles his face, her fingers running through the stubble on his cheeks, as she familiarizes herself with the feel of it once more. Her eyes flutter as he circles his hips, hitting a spot deep inside of her, one that has remained untouched for years. Her vibrators were never quite up to the job. Oliver had ruined her.

Oliver slants his mouth over hers, his tongue brushes against the seal of her mouth until her lips pop open, granting him access. He explores the depths of her mouth, moaning at the taste of coffee coating her tongue. He runs his tongue over the roof and her teeth before caressing her tongue with his.

She’s lightheaded, uncertain if it is the man himself or the lack of air, or perhaps both in conjunction with each other. She had forgotten all of this and keeps her eyes open as their lips move in tandem, to make sure that she isn’t dreaming again. It feels real, realer than any dream she’s had, but her mind has been known to play tricks on her.

Felicity weaves her fingers into his damp hair. The spray of the shower barely touched his head and she mostly feels the silky strands of his cropped locks. She does prefer the shorter haired look on him even if it means less hair to grip when their in the throes of their passion.

Her nails scratch against his skull and a guttural groan leaves his lips. It’s animalistic and raw like his eyes. The blue is darker, and there’s something dangerous in his orbs. She likens his look to the way predators look at their prey.

His thumb presses down hard as he swirls it in quick and fast circles on her clit. He slams into her, her back rubbing against the wall, likely leaving bruises which will be tomorrow’s problem. Right now, all she cares about is the reconnection of their bodies after all these years. He slides out of it with only the tip remaining inside of her before thrusting hard and fast. She throws her head back, hitting the damn wall. There’s a dull throb, but nothing compared to the one she’s felt down there since seeing him again.

She’s ached for him for too long to let something like a little bump get in the way.

His grips her ass with both hands, fingers tightening on her cheeks, keeping her head level with his. She sees the hungry desire in his eyes, the need to satiate it, and she reciprocates. She allows him to see it in her own. He isn’t alone in this. She wants him just as badly..

“I need you to take over.”

Her hand slides between their bodies, brushing against the firm muscles of his abs until she reaches her hard nub. Her walls grip him as he enters, caressing his cock. His forehead drops to her as his gaze moves downward to watch where they’re joined. The sight is erotic and one he has missed more than he can express.

She feel his hot breath against her lips as he continues to move in and out of her. Her fingers flick over her clit, teasing the bud, slowing when she senses her release coming. She wants to time it with his. He captures her lips again in a hot, needy kiss, their moans mixing together.

It feels beyond amazing to feel him there inside of her. She thought she would have to die before this would happen, but he’s here. They’re together and despite all of the changes, he’s still hers. They were back where they belonged after all this time.

She feels it growing, the pleasure bubbling up inside of her. She senses his desperation as he pushes against her, the friction of their wet bodies giving her sensory overload.

“Please Oliver,” she rasps. She’s almost there. It’s just beyond her reach, but she’s just about reached the cliff and she needs him there with her, so they can do it together.

It was her plea that did it for him. It was full of raw emotion, and he can’t deny her. He spent way too much time doing that when they could’ve been doing this. He sucks and nips at her neck as his cock plunges into her warm, velvet walls. They wrap tightly around her and he growls when he feels her clench around him.

He bites down where her neck and shoulder meet before laving the abused skin with his tongue. Her fingers dig roughly into his shoulders. “Right there Oliver, fuck I’m close.”

“Me too baby,” his voice a rough whisper. Her hips rotate and he drives himself up into her. His hips begin to lose rhythm the longer they carry on. He wants to crawl into her body and never leave, despite knowing how unrealistic that was. Her cries and gasps ring in his ears as he surges forward, burying himself to the hilt in her. Her walls flutter as she screams and clamps down on him.

He continues to pump into her silk folds, his lips sucking salaciously over her pulse point. She’s lost in the haze of her release as he strokes into her. She’s still going as he inches deeper into her. He propels himself back before diving in. His upper arms are straining to hold her up, but he refuses to give into it. He plows into her, in, out, in, out, focusing on his own breathing, his pace unrelenting as he seeks his own release.

He bathes her neck in tiny kisses, devouring the skin freely available to him. He pushes deeper and harder until he feels himself crescendoing as her loud keens of pleasure fill his ears, altering him to her second orgasm. His thighs tense and quiver as he thrusts into her one last time, her walls spasming around his cock. He spills into her and he’s finally jumped off the cliff with her. The sensation reminds him of jumping of buildings.

She kisses every inch of his face as he thrusts into her shallowly before pulling out. He slowly lowers her to the floor and they pull apart with huge grins on their faces. He smiles bashfully at her, pushing back her wet hair.

Her eyes are so blue and happy. Felicity can’t remember the last time she felt like this, like the world was her oyster. Her chest rises and falls, and her heart beat is erratic as her body comes down. “I love you.” She wants it to be abundantly clear even if he always knows the depth of her feelings for him. This is a new start for them, a chance to finally get things right and she refuses to waste it. “I’ve always only loved you.” It's comical to think how convinced she was she loved Cooper. He represented lust and youthful stupidity and rebellion. What they had would've never lasted, and Ray well... she loved him, but she wasn't in love with him. It made a big difference and Ray knew too. It was always Oliver from the moment he flashed his charming smile and introduced himself before pulling out a bullet ridden laptop. 

Oliver kisses her, it’s short and sweet, and conveys his feelings for her. He pulls back, his face incredibly close, his eyes intent and clear. “I love you Felicity. You’re the first woman I ever really loved and well the last because you’re impossible to get over. There’s no one like you in the entire multi-verse. I know I’ve had my share of screw ups and we didn’t get that lifetime together, but it’s going to be different this time.” He is laying all of his cards on the table. He wants to be upfront from the beginning about his intentions to prevent any miscommunication between them. There won't be any barriers separating them and he mentally promises himself to tell her all of it from the start. He wants her to know all of him, the parts he withheld all these years, and he wants to hear about her too. 

“I know,” she believes him. His eyes are earnest and honest. “You’re not the only who messed up. I did too.”

She shivers as the chilled water hits her skin. He grins sheepishly, twisting the knobs until he shuts off the shower. “Come on, we’ve got to find you some clothes. I mean I love the sight of you naked and it’s very tempting to lock my bedroom and keep you hear as my sex slave.” She giggles and slaps his chest. “But Mia and Will are with Tommy, and who knows what he’s filling their heads with, but I would like to continue all of this tonight if you can stay again.”

Felicity knows she won’t really be going back to her apartment to stay.

She glances up at him, her eyes dancing with mirth as her fingers playfully trail over his unblemished chest. “I think arrangements can be made.”

He presses his lips to hers, eliciting another moan. “Stop tempting me. I can’t resist your call.”

She can’t resist his either. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why she couldn’t let go. “Come on horn dog,” she tugs him by the hand, leading him out of the shower. “I’m kind of hungry. We could go into the city, pick up some Chinese and maybe some of my clothes.” Also, she kinda needs to get her car. While she won’t get ticketed as it’s safely ensconced within the QC parking garage, she doesn’t want to rely on him to get around places, especially as their work places are on opposite sides of the city.

“You know I’ll follow you anywhere.”

She beams up at him and his breath catches in his throat. She’s gorgeous, pure light, and he doesn’t know how he’s gone so long without her by his side. He doesn’t have the power or energy to part from her side again.

“Ditto. Also maybe we can talk later because I’ve got a lot of questions for you.”

His mouth ticks up, and she nearly sobs at the sight. “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.”

She narrows her eyes him and he laughs. “You’re lucky I love you.” And he has to smile. His cheeks ache with it, but it’s futile to resist the way his lips quirk up every time he looks at her or she talks to him. He doesn’t know how he’s gotten lucky twice to have her in his life, but he won’t take her for granted. Living without her was hell and he refuses to go back to that.

An hour later, they’re fully clothed and headed back to the city with her hand firmly grasped in his. He catches her gaze, and his heart skips a beat, a warmth floods through him as he realizes that she is in fact real, seated next to him. He isn’t dreaming any longer.

Mia and Will cover their mouths to hide their giggles. They've never seen their dad like this, so happy. He rarely smiles at anyone that isn't them or his sister. He really likes Felicity, maybe even loves her, the little girl observes. Mia can't wait to tell her Auntie Thea about all of it when she comes over because she'll never believe it. 

Will shakes his head at the way his dad keeps peeking at his new girlfriend. It reminds him of the boys at his school when they have crushes on the girls. He likes that his daddy seems to be really happy. And he likes Felicity even if he just met her. She's nice and pretty, and doesn't talk down to them because they're kids. He can't ask for much else in his dad's girlfriend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think? I would love to hear your thoughts.  
> The whole situation with Mia will be explained but she is the daughter of a sister dyed blonde IT girl. There’s a whole story there for why in her merged memories Felicity doesn’t know.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't abandoned this story. I promise. I'm sorry it took a month to update. Things have just been crazy.

Driving back to Oliver’s home in her car gives her time to think through everything that transpired in the last twenty-four hours. She certainly saw some stuff in her first life from aliens to drug infected soldiers to meta humans. There were no limits on the problems they were regularly faced with and while all of those were massive and caused their own kind of destruction, it is her current issues she has no idea how to handle.

Oliver dropped her off at her, texted her his address with a wink, and told her to take all the time she needed to pack a bag and do whatever needed doing. He would run a few errands and pick up dinner for all of them. He kissed her cheek with a shy smile as he pulled away, and her heart melted at the sight of him. It was strange how endearing she found this new side of him. Where once he was confident, he was filled with uncertainty. Brimming with it. He was hesitant, despite their escapade in the shower.

Regardless of how much time passed for either of them since they last saw each other in Bloomfield, time had gone by and they weren’t the same Oliver and Felicity they were then. They have lived lives without each other and raised children separately, which is an entirely different headache she isn’t ready to confront.

Oliver promised before they departed to explain, but she can’t help feeling anxious and worried. He replied in clipped sentences when she asked anything as they dressed and readied themselves to depart, promising to answer all of her queries much later when there was time.

It can’t mean good things. At least in all of her experiences with Oliver when he stays tight lipped, it implied there wasn’t a good story behind whatever there current headaches were.

She is still stuck on the whole a thousand years thing because she couldn’t work that mathematically. How old did that make his soul? How had he stayed sane? What did he do in all of that time? Where did his soul go? He had stated his body was in fact destroyed, which she knew. They had to bury a casket full of things instead of him. She only had the word of the others and the obvious absence of her husband when the crisis ended. When her memories were returned to her from the old timeline, she didn’t know what to do with them.

There was nothing good about it in the end. They were all miserable.

Her fingers tap on the steering wheel and she turns up the music to drown out her thoughts, otherwise she knows she’ll drive herself crazy. She has to give Oliver a chance and trust that he will tell her the whole truth instead of protecting her as he had done in their last lives. So she was kind of bitter about it all of these years later, but a betrayal by someone you loved was a betrayal.

Oliver’s neighborhood comes into focus, though neighborhood is a loose term for houses spread out, providing residents with a lot of distance between them and their neighbors.

She pulls her car into the driveway, parking next to Oliver’s expensive Range Rover. She is aware it isn’t his only vehicle, just the one he uses when he has the kids.

The front door flies open and Mia races down the walkway, slamming into Felicity’s legs. Felicity places a hand on the hood of her car to steady the two of them. The force of the impact was a little stronger than she anticipated and Mia is surprisingly quick. “Felicity!” She squeals, her face bright and happy. “You came. You’re here.” She bounces on her toes, clapping her hands.

“I am. I did promise to play with you.”

“Good ‘cause Will is boring and won’t play with me.” Her bottom lip juts out pathetically as they walk to house after Felicity grabs her overnight bag. “He went to his friend’s house.” She points across the street. The girl heaves a sigh, shoulders dropping dramatically, and Felicity is starting to believe Oliver’s claims about her spending too much time with his sister.

“Well your dad and I will play with you.”

“Daddy is in his office working.”

It is kind of odd for to adjust to Oliver holding an occupation again and on top of that in a place of authority within in a company. He had made his opinions about taking over the CEO position clear and complained regularly about the responsibilities it entailed. If it weren’t for her, she suspects he would’ve neglected his duties entirely, not that it mattered in the end. She knows he later came to regret losing his company, but he found his niche as the mayor of their city even after being removed from office.

“Maybe now that I’m here he won’t be too busy.” Mia shrugs her shoulders and leads Felicity down to Oliver’s office.

The door is open and she can hear him speaking on the phone. “I just have to make some alterations to the dedication page.” There’s a pause. “I know it was about to go to print, but there’s something I have to add.” She leans against the doorway, watching as he rakes his hand through his cropped hair. His shoulders are tense and he’s frustrated. She has seen him in this pose enough times. “Look, I get it. It’s a big ask. I’m almost done with it and will have it emailed to you soon. Yes,” he rolls his eyes. “Thank you. I’ll see you Monday in the office.” He ends the call and turns to her and Mia with a lift of his brow.

“How did you know we were here?”

“I always know when you’re around Felicity.”Half of his mouth quirks up into a lopsided grin.

Mia pads softly across the office and plants herself in his lap with a loud sigh. “Can we play now daddy?” She places her hands on his cheeks. “Please?”

He makes eye contact with Felicity and she nods her head with a smile. “Oh I don’t know Mia, you must be awfully tired. Yesterday was a big day with Halloween and breaking your arm. Wouldn’t you much rather nap?” He stretches his arms and yawns widely, aiming a wink at Felicity.

“No,” the girl pouts, crossing her arms. “I want to play. You was busy and I waited and waited.” Felicity snorts at this kid, shaking her head. In some ways, she reminds her of the Earth Prime Mia she raised, but in a lot of others, she is her own person separate from that version.

Oliver logs off his computer and smiles at her. “You’re right. I did say we could play an daddy doesn’t want to be a liar.” The comment is meant for the two of them. He’s telling her that he hasn’t forgotten about what he promised her and he isn’t going to hold back from her like he has in the past. “What do you want to do baby girl?”

Mia beams up at him with trust and adoration shining in her eyes. Felicity can’t bring herself to look away. She hungrily gazes at the two of them, wishing fervently things had worked out differently in their original universe. Mia taps her chin thoughtfully. “Let’s go to the treehouse. I want to show it to Fe-li-ci-ty.” So apparently they are back to enunciating all of the syllables in her name. She is beginning to believe it is something genetic, passed from father to daughter.

Oliver carefully lifts Mia into his arms, mindful of her cast. “Do you mind? He asks her.

She shakes her head. “I never had a tree house, so I would love to see it.”

He leads them upstairs, stopping at a closet. He opens it, removing jackets and shoes for himself and Mia. He helps her into a cute, hooded pink jacket with ears on the hood. She waves him off when he tries to help her tie her shoes. “I can do it,” she scowls, and that is definitely Mia.

He holds his hands up innocently and backs off as the pre-kindergartener does her thing. Felicity is impressed when she successfully laces both of her light up shoes. The reason she knows they light up is because Mia makes sure to step extra hard to get them to do so. Oliver shakes his head with a smirk as she follows them out into the massive backyard, well massive by non-rich people’s standards. If she compares it to his childhood home, then it is ‘tiny’ to use the word loosely.

Through a thicket of trees rises the ginormous treehouse. “Seriously?” She asks him. “I think it’s bigger than my apartment.” He grins sheepishly, holding out his hand. She grabs it, tangling their fingers. Warmth crawls through her body and there’s something that feels right about all of this. She gets to be here with him, to have him as hers, and to be with their children. She understand how lucky she is and how others could only dream of something like this.

Mia begins to scale the ladder leading to the second level of the treehouse. It resembles something more of a lookout. There’s an attached swing set, a climbing net, a set of stairs on the opposite side along with a slide. Underneath is a tire swing. There’s a third level, which isn’t really a floor. It has a space for a father and his two kids looking up at the stars through the expensive telescope up there.

“Be careful,” he calls out to her, mindful of her every movement. Felicity tracks the girl as well as they move to the swings. He holds one out for her and she laughs, and goes to sit. He pushes her as Mia slides down and goes back up.

“Seeing you be a daddy is amazing. You’ve been so many different Olivers, but this one, this is my favorite.” She tells him. Those precious few months where he doted on her as her pregnancy progressed and then the ones following with their infant daughter, they were the ones she kept closest to her heart. With William it was different. He didn’t know him until he was older and only came into custody of their son because of tragic circumstances. He loved Mia from the moment he knew about her and did everything he could to protect Felicity.

She knows in an alternate timeline he was gone and she raised Mia alone without anyone knowing of her existence. In the original timeline, her daughter wasn’t her biggest fan and was pissed at Felicity for too many things. But her beautiful, loving, and self-sacrificing husband gave up everything to give them all a better future even though it wouldn’t include him.

He chuckles. “Sara said something similar one of the last times I saw her. She was as surprised as everyone to discover there was a Mia. Mia was a bit put out that we really hadn’t told anyone of her existence.” Felicity giggles. “She turned out to be such an incredible young woman and hero.”

And doesn’t Felicity know it. “She saved William. Sara brought her back for the funeral and someone bitter about you putting them away kidnapped him.”

“I thought you would surely have a way to keep track of our children.”

She leans her head back to poke out her tongue. “You’re a jerk.” She pouts. “It was deactivated when he entered city limits. Anyway, she didn’t kill him even though she could have. It was surreal to see her don the hood and to take up the mantle of the Green Arrow.”

“Are you upset?” The vigilante lifestyle had taken a lot from them and it was a hard life to live. There was a lot of hiding, secrecy, and sacrificing involved to become a hero. “About her becoming the Green Arrow.”

Felicity sighs as he pushes her. “I can’t say I’m that surprised. She has two sets of memories and in one of her lives, she trained extensively to protect herself. Of course she later misused those skills to make money.”

“Oh the cage fighting?”

She quirks a brow.

“We may have gone to Russia and gotten ourselves into a little snafu.”

“You what?”

She hasn’t heard this story and she wonders what John kept tightlipped about. He was awful vague about those last months of her husband’s life. “Well there was a situation and we had to go to Russia for reasons. And Mia and I were in a cage fight. If it helps, we totally kicked ass.”

It doesn’t help. She thinks she likes that she remained blissfully unaware of the time of her husband’s activities. She would’ve been itching to assist him in any way, which wasn’t possible with Mia. “William was there too. He as I’m sure you’re aware is not a fighter.” No, her stepson was into technology and hacking like herself. She had signed her company over to him for a reason. Mia wasn’t interested in that at all, not that she had shown much of interest in anything. “He was our tech support. He wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of us fighting, but shit happens. Also I totally am a superior archer.”

She snorts. “You would be smug about that.”

“She’s good but only improved after I mentored her.”

“Did you make her slap bowls of water?”

“No,” he glowers down at her. “But she was trained to survive and protect and didn’t know how to be a hero. I also did unleash a bunch of tennis balls on her. She was too cocky about her skills and it was a good lesson for her to learn.”

“Gee, I wonder where she could’ve inherited that?”

“I don’t know. Her mother is kind of cocky about her skills and has definitely overestimated her own capabilities.”

She gasps, digging her feet into the ground. “I have not.” She slugs him. “I am one of the best hackers and you would have been found out much sooner if it wasn’t for my assistance.”

He hums in a placating manner. “I don’t know.” His lips twitch.

“Who hacked into the SCPD to destroy your blood sample? Who erased camera footage and didn’t crack when investigated by the police?”

He rolls his eyes. “I mean Detective Lance isn’t all that formidable.”

“You’re an ass. I see that hasn’t changed in all these years.”

Hr grins smugly, tugging her into his arms. He leans down to brush his lips against hers. It’s soft and sweet, and way too short but there are little eyes about. She glances around warily, but finds Mia on the second level occupied by whatever toys she has up there. “I love you.”

“I love you too even if you are a jerk.”

They play tag and hide and seek for a while before Mia’s energy starts to wane. She’s dragging and it’s too cute watching her try to keep herself awake. “Come on Pizzeria,” he picks her up and her tiny, blonde head lands on his shoulder. Her hands clutch his jacket and she exhales tiredly. Felicity runs her fingers through her pigtails, enjoying the way Mia sighs. They walk back to the house and Oliver sets Mia on the couch in the family room.

Felicity grabs a blanket from a basket, draping it over the tiny girl. She tucks it around her and Mia snuggles into the cushions. “She’ll probably sleep for an hour. The food won’t be delivered for a while yet, so how about we talk. I know you’ve got questions. You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t and maybe I can fill in any gaps.”

She nods and he leads her into a small library. “It’s so we’re nearby if she wakes up. Sometimes Mia has nightmares and panics if she can’t find me.”

She perches on the end of an armchair and sits on the sofa. She needs space if she’s going to remember all of the pertinent questions she prepared in the car. “Okay, so my first question is in relation to Mia.”

He lifts a brow, curiosity written on his face. “And that would be?” He prompts.

She wipes her sweaty hands on her jeans. “I-well- it’s not exactly spying. It’s available as public record and if it’s on the internet I can find it.” His grin is encouraging. He knows this about her, has known from nearly the beginning. “Mia suddenly came into your life almost five years ago. Who is her mother?”

He frowns at her. “You don’t know?”

Felicity shakes her head. If she knew the answer, she would’ve never posed the question. His brows furrow in confusion, a divot appearing between them, kind of like Mia. “Felicity, you’re her mother. Several months before I popped up here, apparently you and I met in Boston and had a one night stand.”

“We… wait like you and college me? We did the-“ she does some obscene gesture with her hands.

“I’m going to pretend that I’m not offended.”

“It isn’t about you, more about me, I mean I wasn’t exactly your type.”

He rolls his eyes. So they are on that again. “Felicity, no version of me could ever ignore you. There’s something about you that attracts me like a magnet. If I can have you, then the rest of the world and all of the women in it fade to the background. I waited years last time because you were too good for me. I wanted to protect you from my life.”

“And then I said it seemed impossible the idea of us.”

“Yeah, I tried really hard not to feel insulted. You and I was all I thought about.”

“So why the other women?” She is aware they are straying away from the topic at hand, but she never asked him when she had the chance.

He runs his fingers through his hair, frustration all over his face. “Because I could distract myself and I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere.” He blurts out. “And then when you and Ray got together after I blew my chances, well I thought it was better that way.”

“You were a huge asshole to me when I dated him. You were distant and moody.”

“It wasn’t exactly personal and it was at the same time. I couldn’t be near you without wanting more, but you had someone in your life. There was someone who was almost as smart as you, had a lot of the same interests, and wouldn’t lead you into danger.” Their first date still haunted his nightmares. He came so close to losing her before he ever had her.

Felicity resists the urge to smack him for his misguided thinking. Her mother knew when Ray landed in the hospital that she wasn’t in love with him. She suspects she knew from the beginning and preferred for Felicity to figure it out on her own. She hadn’t meant to hurt Ray at all, but a perfect match on paper didn’t translate well when applied to real life. “I liked Ray and love him like a friend, but he- we didn’t work. I held myself back because I was in love with you the whole time and while he didn’t really know until the end, I think he suspected.”

“Sara and I weren’t anything and we won’t ever mention that other woman.” He shudders when he thinks of his mistake in Russia. It should’ve never happened and he regretted every day allowing it to happen. Seeing Felicity’s face and hearing the emotional tremor in her voice as she asked him why did something to him. It was the first time someone had questioned him on his bed practices and the first time he really cared that he had hurt someone he loved. Felicity hadn’t deserved that from him, especially when he pretended to not notice the way she felt for him. “Sara and I were letting off steam. She was in love with Nyssa and I was in love with you. She knew it and never called me on it until later after we got together. We were two lonely people trying to fill a void.”

She can believe that. Sara had told her as much. “What about that bitch Susan?”

“Ugh, do we have to talk about her? She meant less to me than all of my one night stands. Besides, I would hardly call her anything. I just needed something after you, and that backfired spectacularly.”

“Thank you for answering. You didn’t really have to.”

“No, I did. I should have told you all of this long before this moment. As for Mia, I didn’t know about her until I received a call from social services. A baby had been released into their custody and supposedly I was the father. It fit with the timeline. I still did a DNA test and then I saw her.” His face is soft and his eyes shine with love. “It was Mia. I could never forget what she looked like all pink and brand new.” It is one of Felicity’s favorite memories. Oliver was incredulous and hopeful as he held their daughter or the first time. “I had this blurry memory from nine or so months previous with some goth chick, who I belatedly realized was you upon closer inspection. It was your eyes. You wore a lot of heavy make-up and I had never seen your hair thar dark.” She wants to flick him. It wasn’t a lot of eyeliner, well maybe just a smidge too much.

“I don’t remember this at all. All of my memories have merged from my old life and this one, but there is like a whole year missing. I was in a car accident and spent time in the hospital. They asked me if I remembered the accident or knew the date when I first woke up. I thought it was the previous fall and I never recovered the memories from that time. It was what led to me and my mom patching up our relationship.”

“You were?” He wasn’t aware of that. He decided to not pry into her life, lest he be tempted. He wanted her to have free will and to choose him on her own.

“That’s probably when I gave birth to Mia. It has to be. It’s the only unaccounted time in my life. My roommate would’ve known. She was my medical proxy at the time. My mom and I were on the outs and I wouldn’t have told her. I woke up like two or three weeks later in the hospital and couldn’t remember the last year of my life. It was all so confusing. They asked me a lot of questions and I think they were hinting at the pregnancy and baby, but I didn’t remember any of that.”

Now that she knows it is her pregnancy, she mourns the loss of those memories. She can’t remember what it felt like to carry this Mia, to hear her heartbeat, to hold her after giving birth.

‘If I had know-“

She goes to him, cutting him off with a kiss. “You couldn’t have.”

“I was shocked to find out I had a daughter. I had just gotten custody of William from his grandparents. They had done everything in their power to keep him from me. They see him twice a year now. After I gained custody of Mia I had to get the hell out of my mother’s house.” Felicity buries her face in his neck to hide her laughter. He pokes her side. “I’m serious. She had something to say about everything. She wanted me to enroll William in all the best schools and tried to get me to see how imperative it was I settled down. She didn’t like the way I was doing anything. She was overbearing and it reminded me too much of when I first came back from the island.”

Felicity is aware Oliver loves his mother. Her death affected him and he wished he had more time with her. It was another death on his conscience. However, it didn’t take away from how much she irritated him with her half truths and blatant lies, the way she tried to control him and force him into doing things he didn’t want to. Oliver isn’t pliable and isn’t likely to do anyone’s bidding if he doesn’t feel inclined to do so.

“How did that go over with her?”

He strokes her hair. “I think you can guess about how well it went over. She was pissed and being argumentative. She kept saying children needed structure and balance and how William was just getting used to everything.” He kisses her head. “I love my mother, but i’m not ignorant to the way she manipulates. Now we have a standing lunch date and she takes care of Mia in the mornings for me. She comes to games and dance recitals. We’ve settled our differences if for no other reason than our children.”

Felicity plays with the hem of his shirt. “Why didn’t you reach out? Like to the me here before me now? You kind of didn’t react at all when we first ‘met’ after Mia came to the IT department.”

“I was taking all of my cues from you. It was why I tried to curb Mia. You hadn’t said anything and until that point, I wasn’t entirely sure you were in Star City. I stayed away from IT because it reminded me of you. It’s where we first met.”

A memory forges ahead to the front of her mind and she recalls one of his dedications. “But that isn’t the first time you saw me, right?”

“How would you know that?”

“I told you I checked out your graphic novels. I haven’t really had the chance to read them with all of the events of yesterday and today.”

“Yes, that’s correct. I actually saw you two years before we met. I was working for Argus then, specifically Waller. They needed me for a special mission in Starling. Really they needed me for access to my family’s company. They hadn’t erased any of my data, so I used my fingerprint to enter into the system and copied files. And then there you were. You were a breath of fresh air after dealing with mercenaries and leaders of questionable organizations.” She frowns, unable to recall a moment where they would’ve been in close proximity. “You were dropping off files. You had on this white polka dot shirt and a black skirt, actually quite conservative given some of your later looks.” She jabs him in the side as he chuckles heartily. Her skirts weren’t that short. “Anyway, I hid and you picked up the photo of me with my dad. You rambled about how handsome and attractive you thought I was and how it was so sad that I was dead.”

“I did not!” She can vaguely recall being in his mother’s office, staring at the photo of serial killer Oliver and his dad. “You looked like a serial killer.”

“Hey!”

“I may have mentioned something about how cute you were.”

“You were babbling and it was endearing. I didn’t know anyone like you. You made me smile and by that point in my life, there wasn’t much to smile about. I wanted to know you, but I had a job to do and put you out of my mind. And then whose office but yours should I walk into two years later, it was like the universe telling me that you and I were destined to meet.”

She presses her palm to his chest, where his heart beats for her, and she can’t help but agree that it sure sounded like fate. Felicity isn’t usually the type to believe in such things, but the probability of them ‘reconnecting’ after all that time wasn’t exactly in his favor. She is thankful every day it happened. “Seeing you there with the red pen in your mouth and then you babbling, it was comforting to know that as much as things had changed for me, you hadn’t. I didn’t know you, but I wanted to. It was why I kept coming back and asking for your help for all of those tasks.”

“With ridiculous explanations.”

“Yes, John wasn’t exactly onboard with my seeking your assistance, but you were good. You surprised me. Most people would’ve turned in the Hood or dropped him off at a hospital, but you didn’t.”

She didn’t. She wanted to protect him. As much as she disagreed with some of his more notable methods, she begrudgingly agreed he got results. He was doing a lot of good for the city, particularly the residents of the Glades. “I liked you then, but you know that. It wasn’t quite adding up and I had my suspicions, and when you showed up shot in my car, I was touched you trusted me. I made the decision to help you and you helped me too.”

“I’m glad.”

“Back to before, would you have told me?”

“About Mia? If you had asked, I would’ve told you. I just thought you weren’t capable of providing for her which is why you gave her to me. I promise that I’ve done everything to give her the best life.”

“I know. She is happy and has a big brother. She has the most amazing daddy. Trust me, I’ve seen it. She talks about you. She popped up in my office yesterday.” He groans. “She hates my boss.” Oliver does too. “She turned me onto the graphic novels when she mentioned Girl Wednesday and Meghan Fyre. A bit on the nose don’t you think, Fyre, Smoak, I may be blonde, but I’m not dumb.”

“Of course not,” he says immediately. Felicity is one of the smartest people he has ever met. “I wasn’t expecting you to show up. I hoped. God did I hope, but I would’ve accepted if you hadn’t.”

“I couldn’t stay away any longer. Mia and William don’t need me anymore, at least not like they had when they were younger. Mia is on her own journey and William, he’s older than you. He’s running my company and they’ve got each other. They wanted me to be happy.”

Oliver swallows painfully. Felicity was a parent to his son longer than he knew him. “I’m glad that you consider me part of your happiness.”

Her eyes darken as she turns her head to catch his gaze. “Don’t you know by now baby, you’re essential to my happiness.”

He dips his head down to capture her lips in a heated kiss. His hands roam her sides as he tugs her closer. She throws a leg over his legs and settles comfortably on his lap as the kiss deepens. Her tongue snakes out to tangle with his. His lips are hard andunrelenting as their chests press together. She grinds into him and he groans into her mouth.

“Ollie? OH!”

Felicity growls because seriously? Twice in a single day when she has just rediscovered the love of her life, she’s been freaking cock blocked by the nosiest people in his life.

“Thea?” He groans, dropping his head to the back of the sofa. Felicity empathizes with his pain. They were well on their way to having another round before his sister arrived. “What are you doing here?”

“I invited myself over to stay the night and meet your girlfriend.” Felicity can hear the brimming excitement in her voice. There is no way they’re getting rid of the teenager now that she’s found them heading towards something decidedly not PG.

“Of course you did,” he mutters low enough for only Felicity to hear. He grumbles some more under his breath as he discreetly readjusts himself. Felicity slides off his lap with a disappointed huff. 

They are definitely going to finish what they started later and continue their talk because she still has lots of questions.

She pastes on a smile, tries to make it as genuine as possible as she turns to Thea. She can’t really blame the girl anyway. She had no way of knowing what she was interrupting when she barged in. “Hi. I’m Felicity.”

“I’m Thea. Ollie has literally said nothing and now I’m starting to see why.”

She jabs Oliver after sensing his amusement with the situation. None of this is in any way funny. Twice in one day, they’ve been walked in on by two nosy, gossip people. “Yes, he’s kind of asinine like that. He told me all about you. I don’t know how much is possibly accurate since he talks about you like you’re twelve.”

Thea rolls her eyes at her brother. “Unsurprising, come, we must talk more. We’ll leave Ollie to cool down.” She wrinkles her nose with a pointed look directed at her brother. Felicity covers her mouth as she giggles. Oliver glares at her. She kisses his cheek.

“The food should be here soon. We can exchange stories over dinner.” She turns to wink at him.

Oliver laughs because like their daughter, Felicity can’t wink to save her life, but she is still his and she can’t be perfect at everything. He frowns. He really needs to separate his sister and girlfriend. The two of them together is a dangerous combination and he knows they’ll gang up on him. “Wait! Felicity! Thea!” He calls after them, hearing their resulting giggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


End file.
